Inside 40 years of NC State basketball recruiting (part VIII)

The final five years of NC State basketball recruiting including one more coaching transition.

The end of head coach Mark Gottfried and his recruiting style, shifted to a new way of accumulating talent when head coach Kevin Keatts was hired in 2017. The last few classes still have plenty of time to "write" their story.

Here is a look at NC State's recruiting classes from 2016-20.

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• Darius Hicks (6-7, 215, PF, Greenville (S.C.) 22 Feet Academy); From Quitman (Miss.) High

• Markell Johnson (6-1, 180, PG, Cleveland (Ohio) East)

• Ted Kapita (6-8, 240, PF, Daytona Beach (Fla.) DME Academy); From Democratic Republic of Congo

• Dennis Smith Jr. (6-2, 180, PG, Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian)

• Omer Yurtseven (6-11, 230, C, Fenerbahce in Istanbul, Turkey)

Overview: Talented, eclectic and complete scramble job could best describe this group. Yet with two Rivals.com five-star prospects, two four-star prospects and a three-star player, the class was arguably the greatest in school history. Only Johnson though lasted longer than two years.

The lone recruit who wasn’t a spring signee was Smith, but his recruitment had a twist. He injured his knee in August going into his senior year, and elected to enroll early so he could rehab at NCSU. He was considered a top 10 recruit and Rivals.com had him as a five-star prospect.

Mercurial might be the best way of describing Smith’s one-and-done season at NC State. The statistics and ACC honors came Smith’s way, but the winning did not. NC State went 15-17 overall and 4-14 in the ACC and Gottfried was fired as a result.

Smith was named second-team All-ACC and Rookie of the Year. He averaged 18.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 6.2 assists per contest in 32 games (all starts).

Smith was eighth in the league in points per game, first in assists a contest and second with 1.9 steals per game. He also had triple-doubles against Virginia Tech and Syracuse. He erupted for 32 points and six assists in a 84-82 win at Duke on Jan. 23, 2017, which became his signature game.

Smith entered the NBA Draft and went No. 9 overall to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2017 NBA Draft. He was named second-team All-NBA Rookie, after averaging 15.2 points and 5.2 assists per game. However, Smith was dealt to the New York Knicks midway through his second campaign and has struggled. He averaged just 5.5 points and 2.9 assists in 34 games played this past season, and shot an abysmal 34.1 percent from the field.

Changing classes was part of the theme with NC State’s scramble job. Johnson was in the class of 2017, but the summer after his his junior year of high school, he was convinced to pick NC State over Texas A&M and join the class of 2016. He was considered a top 50 prospect when he was in the class of 2017.

Johnson played all four years at NC State. He finished 45th all-time in NC State history with 1,163 career points, third with 607 assists and 10th with 165 steals.

Johnson averaged 9.7 points, 5.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game, and he started 87 out of 120 career contests he played. He led the ACC in assists in both his sophomore year and senior year, and was named second-team All-ACC this past season. He averaged 12.8 points, 6.8 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game his senior year.

Yurtseven verbally committed to NC State on May 16, 2016, over Utah and Syracuse, but the challenge with him (and Kapita) was to get the Rivals.com five-star eligible at the beginning of his freshman year. He had played with powerhouse professional team Fenerbahce Ulker in Turkey.

Ultimately, Yurtseven was suspended the first nine games and waited until Dec. 15 to make his NC State debut against Appalachian State. He had 12 points in the win, but it became clear that the big man needed some time to adjust to college basketball.

Yurtseven averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 22 games played (14 starts) during his freshman year. Following the coaching change to Keatts, he flourished.

He improved to 13.5 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in 2017-18. He shot an impressive 57.2 percent from the field and started 22 out of 33 games played. He earned third-team All-ACC for his efforts, which included finishing second in the league in field-goal percentage.

Yurtseven surprised many by leaving NC State and bypassing professional basketball, instead transferring to Georgetown and new coach Patrick Ewing. After a sit-out season, he averaged 15.5 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game and was second in the Big East in field-goal percentage (53.4), third in rebounding, ninth in points and fifth in blocked shots. Yurtseven declared for the NBA Draft on April 27.

Kapita was a top 100 recruit at one point by Rivals.com in the class of 2015, but then fell by the wayside a bit academically. NC State found him after he resurfaced at Daytona Beach (Fla.) DME Academy, and he committed June 24, 2016.

He showed flashes, particularly when he had 14 points and 10 rebounds in the win at Duke to complement Smith’s effort. He averaged 4.3 points and 3.4 rebounds and shot 60.8 percent from the field in 26 games played (three starts). He elected to turn professional following the coaching change, but went undrafted.

Kapita was invited to a couple of minor league teams training camps, but didn’t make their rosters.

Hicks, who also signed during the spring, played a total of 25 games at NC State. He injured his knee four games into the 2017-18 season, and ended up leaving the squad before the ACC Tournament. He had 25 points and 36 rebounds in 166 minutes of action with the Wolfpack.

Hicks followed NC State assistant coach A.W. Hamilton, who was hired at Eastern Kentucky. He averaged 5.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 20 games (12 starts) with the Colonels. Hicks announced after this past season that he’d be transferring once again.

Interesting tidbits: The duo of Smith and Yurtseven would have been considered with Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe in the class of 1987, C.J. Leslie and Ryan Harrow in 2010 and Rodney Purvis and T.J. Warren in 2012 prior to their arrivals at NC State. The Corchiani and Monroe class also had two other top 100 type of prospects, but not a fifth member who was a three-star prospect.

• Lavar Batts Jr. (6-2, 160, PG, Concord (N.C.) Robinson)

• Braxton Beverly (5-11, 170, PG, Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy); Ohio State transfer

• C.J. Bryce (6-5, 210, SG, UNC Wilmington transfer); From Charlotte, N.C.

• Devon Daniels (6-5, 205, SF, Utah transfer); From Battle Creek, Mich.

• Allerik Freeman (6-3, 200, SG, Baylor graduate transfer); From Charlotte, N.C.

• Blake Harris (6-3, 190, PG, Missouri transfer); From Chapel Hill, N.C.

• Sam Hunt (6-2, 175, SG, North Carolina A&T graduate transfer); From Greensboro, N.C.

Overview: The only recruit that Keatts inherited was guard Thomas Allen of Raleigh.

Allen asked out of his letter of intent and ended up signing with Nebraska, where he played two years before he transferred back to NC State.

The fill the void of perimeter talent, the Wolfpack brought in graduate transfers Freeman and Hunt, four-year transfers Bryce and Daniels, prep signee Batts, and then two unique situations. Beverly had already enrolled for summer school at Ohio State, and needed a third appeal to the NCAA to be eligible for the season. Harris played his first semester at Missouri and then enrolled at NC State in January, and also got an appeal to play right away for the 2018-19 season.

Rivals.com ranked Freeman the No. 81 overall player in the class of 2013 coming out of the new defunct Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev. Freeman had previously played two years at Charlotte (N.C.) Olympic and began at Charlotte United Faith.

After three years at Baylor, he earned his degree and picked NC State over Pittsburgh. Freeman made the most of his lone season in Raleigh, helping the squad reach the NCAA Tournament in 2017-18. He averaged 16.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and he started 28 out of 33 contests for the Wolfpack.

Freeman finished his college career averaging 10.4 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. He played in the Chinese Basketball League this past season, and has previously played in Turkey and Hungary.

Hunt had played for Jacksonville and North Carolina A&T prior to his arrival at NC State. The lefty shooter started seven out of the 33 games he played in for the Wolfpack. He averaged 5.5 points per game and shot 41.8 percent from three-point land his last year of college.

He ended up playing 124 college games between his three programs. He shot 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and 90.7 percent on the free-throw line en route to 9.3 points per game.

Rivals.com ranked Batts the No. 96 overall player in the country. He had signed with VCU during the November signing period, but then coach Will Wade left for LSU. Batts quickly signed with NC State and took Allen’s slot.

Batts was known for his defensive energy as a reserve guard, but he struggled offensively. He shot just 58.9 percent from the free throw line, 18.8 percent on threes and 32.1 percent overall en route to averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 assists per game in 30 contests.

After his lone season in Raleigh, Batts transferred to UNC Asheville and has found a better footing. His first year there, he contributed 12.7 points and an impressive 1.8 steals per game while shooting 50.2 percent from the field.

Bryce and Daniels sat out the 2017-18 season, and then came in to replace Freeman and Hunt.

Bryce played his first two years under coach Keatts at UNC Wilmington, and then followed him to NC State. The Charlotte native had averaged 13.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 68 contests with the Seahawks.

He held steady and averaged 12.3 points and 5.3 rebounds a contest with NC State in his two years with the Wolfpack, starting 59 out 64 games.

Bryce, who is preparing for his professional future, averaged 13.1 points and 5.1 rebounds a contest in his college career.

Daniels played his first year at Utah, where he averaged 9.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game for the Runnin’ Utes basketball program. He transferred to NC State with three years of eligibility. The rising fifth-year senior averaged 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this past season.

Overall, Daniels has started 63 of 97 games he has played in between NC State and Utah. He’s averaging 10.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Once Beverly won his final appeal with the NCAA, he hit the ground running his freshman season. He sank 38.5 percent of his three-pointers, scored 9.5 points, dished out 3.9 assists and grabbed 2.4 rebounds per contest. All those marks are his career highs at NC State. Beverly battled a back injury and fell to 7.1 points and 1.2 assists in 24.8 minutes per contest this past season.

Beverly has started 73 of 98 games played at NC State, and he’s shooting 37.9 percent from the field, 36.5 percent on three-pointers and 76.1 percent from the free-throw line. He’s averaging 8.7 points, 2.5 assists and 1.9 rebound a contest in his current NCSU career.

The well-traveled Harris helped take Batts’ slot, but he lasted just one year with the Wolfpack. He averaged 3.1 points and 1.5 assists in 9.5 minutes per game in 30 games played for NC State. He elected to transfer to North Carolina A&T.

Interesting tidbits: Keatts helped set the tone in a variety of areas with his scramble job in bringing in seven newcomers. His love for point guards or combo guards became clear by adding Batts, Beverly and Harris. Keatts didn’t worry about using a “Honeymoon Season” by brining in graduate transfers Freeman and Hunt, and the Wolfpack responded by going 21-12 overall and 11-7 in the ACC before falling to Seton Hall in the NCAA Tournament. Keatts also showed that using as many as the 13 scholarships as possible was going to be a recurring trend at NC State, which was a sharp change from previous coach Mark Gottfried.

• Manny Bates (6-9, 215, C, Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy)

• Derek “D.J.” Funderburk (6-9, 210, PF, Niceville (Fla.) Northwest Florida State College); From Cleveland, Ohio

• Jericole Hellems (6-6, 190, SF/PF, St. Louis (Mo.) Chaminade)

• Sacha Killeya-Jones (6-11, 220, PF, Kentucky transfer) From Chapel Hill, N.C.

• Eric Lockett (6-5, 193, SF, Florida International graduate transfer) From Warner Robins, Ga.

• Ian Steere (6-8, 250, C, Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy)

• Wyatt Walker (6-9, 240, C, Sanford graduate transfer) From Jacksonville, Fla.

Overview: Keatts' first full class included three prep players, one junior college transfer, two graduate transfers and a four-year transfer.

Funderburk has a chance to climb into the NC State record books if he plays for the Wolfpack all three years. Rivals.com ranked Funderburk at No. 77 overall in the country in the class of 2016, and he signed with Ohio State. He redshirted with the Buckeyes his first year, and then was dismissed and played at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla.

Previously, Funderburk had spent his senior year of high school at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., where he played with Beverly and under head coach A.W. Hamilton, who Keatts hired to his staff in Raleigh. Funderburk signed with NC State and immediately became a burst of energy off the bench. He averaged 8.8 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 19.9 minutes per game his first year.

Funderburk started 15 of 30 games he played in this past season, playing both center and power forward. He improved to 12.8 points and 6.1 rebounds a contest and shot a blistering 60.9 percent from the field. Funderburk is testing the NBA Draft waters and has until June 3 to make a decision.

Rivals.com ranked Hellems the No. 130 overall player in the country. He has mostly played small ball power forward and has started 17 of 67 games his first two years. Hellems averaged 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds per game this past season.

NC State needed to wait an extra year for Bates to take the court. He was ranked No. 139 overall in the country by Rivals.com, but missed his senior year of high school and first year of college due to a shoulder injury.

Bates’ defensive skills were apparent from the start of his redshirt freshman season. He led the ACC with 2.9 blocks per game, which ranked No. 7 nationally. His 83 blocks in a season rank behind just Thurl Bailey (95) and BeeJay Anya (91) in school history for a single season. Bates’ season-high of seven blocks against Detroit on Nov. 10 ranks tied for sixth in school history for most blocks in a game.

Bates averaged 5.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and shot 65.7 percent from the field.

Walker arrived as a graduate transfer with two years of eligibility remaining at NC State. However, he played one year and elected to play professionally. Walker started 35 of 36 games at NCSU, and averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 17.9 minutes per game. He tag-teamed the position with Funderburk.

Walker played his first three years at Samford, but suffered an injury and redshirted in 2017-18. He averaged 11.7 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, and shot 58.0 percent from the field there.

Lockett started his career at George Mason, but after appearing in five games, he transferred to Florida International for two years. He got his degree and became a graduate transfer at NC State.

Lockett averaged 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds in 15.5 minutes per game in 25 contests (two starts) at NCSU. His season was interrupted by a mid-season suspension due to charges that were later dismissed.

He finished his career averaging 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 93 games (46 starts). He averaged a career-high 14.3 points a contest with FIU in 2017-18.

Steere proved disappointing with his NC State career lasting one game, four points and four rebounds in five minutes. He transferred to St. John’s, where he only played in six games, and is now trying to resurrect his career at UNC Wilmington under former NCSU assistant coach Takayo Siddle. Rivals.com ranked Steere at No. 138 overall in the country.

While Steere appeared in one game, Killeya-Jones ended up never playing for the Wolfpack.

The Chapel Hill, N.C., native was ranked No. 24 overall in the country in the class of 2016 and made the McDonald’s All-American Game. He signed with Kentucky over North Carolina, but never found his niche in Lexington. He averaged 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes per game in 48 contests for the Wildcats.

Killeya-Jones transferred to NC State but was dismissed from team during his redshirt season. He latched on to a team in Prague. He played in the Latvian-Estonian Basketball League this past year.

Interesting tidbits: The class of 2018 proved to have a little bit of everything, but one “what if” for the class was the absence of forward Saddiq Bey. NC State signed the Rivals.com No. 120-ranked overall player, but he asked for his release following his senior season. Bey eventually signed with reigning national champions Villanova, where he has flourished and could be an NBA Draft pick this summer. Bey averaged 16.1 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and shot 47.7 percent from the field and 45.1 percent on three-pointers his sophomore season.

• Thomas Allen (6-1, 180, SG, Nebraska transfer) From Raleigh

• Pat Andree (6-8, 220, PF, Lehigh graduate transfer) From Colts Neck, N.J.

• Danny Dixon (6-10, 230, C, Missouri-Kansas City graduate transfer) From Grosse Pointe Park, Mich.

• Dereon Seabron (6-4, 180, SF, Woodstock (Va.) Massanutten Military Academy); From Norfolk, Va.

• A.J. Taylor (6-7, 208, PF, Summit (Miss.) Southwest Mississippi C.C.); From Davenport, Iowa.

Overview: The class of 2019 still can make some noise, but parts of it struggled last year in Raleigh.

Andree and Dixon both arrived as graduate transfers, but injuries slowed them down. Andree suffered a pair of ankle injuries, and Dixon battled a foot injury off and on throughout the season.

Andree played his first three years at Lehigh and was able to earn his degree during that time. The son of a former Notre Dame forward, he averaged 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, and he shot an impressive 41.5 percent on three-pointers. He had started 63 of 86 games he played in at Lehigh.

NC State was hoping Andree would drain three-pointers from the stretch four position, but he fell to 32.6 percent this past season, and was just 30.2 percent overall. He averaged 4.4 points in 14 minutes per game, and he started five out of 27 games he played.

Dixon had 27 points and 19 rebounds in 19 games played at NC State, including a start on Senior Night, when he had 10 points in a win over Wake Forest.

He had previously played two years at George Mason and one year at Missouri-Kansas City. He averaged 3.8 points and 2.1 rebounds in 11.6 minutes per game, and he started 17 of 82 contests he played.

Taylor hurt his knee prior to the season, appeared in one contest and sat out the rest of the year. Because he already used his redshirt year during his first year of junior college, he’ll need an appeal from the NCAA to get his year of eligibility back down the road.

Seabron, like Taylor, also had to sit out this past season, but for a different reason. He graduated from Lake Taylor High in Norfolk, Va., and then spent a post-graduate year at Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va. However, he wasn’t ruled eligible academically for the 2019-2020 season and redshirted. Rivals.com ranked him the No. 124 overall in the class of 2019.

Allen also redshirted last year because he transferred back home from Nebraska. As previously stated, Allen signed with NC State Gottfried, but elected to ask out of his letter of intent after Keatts was hired as head coach.

Allen averaged 5.8 points and 1.2 assists in 19.6 minutes per game in his two years at Nebraska. He started 25 of 61 games he played in, and shot 48.4 percent from the field and 36.1 percent on three-pointers for the Cornhuskers.

Interesting tidbits: The glaring hole in the class of 2019 is simple — point guard Jalen Lecque of Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy. NC State began recruiting Lecque while he attended Arden (N.C.) Christ School for what was his reclassified junior year. He made the move to Brewster Academy and signed with NC State during the November signing period. He picked NCSU over Tennessee and others.

Lecque elected to pursue the NBA Draft, since he was in his fifth year of high school. He bypassed on attending NC State and the Rivals.com No. 40-ranked overall prospect went undrafted. However, the Phoenix Suns gave him a four-year contract with two years guaranteed. He played four games with the Suns, and 33 contests with their G-League affiliate.

• Ebenezer Dowuona (6-10, 220, C, Newnan (Ga.) Heritage School)

• Nick Farrar (6-6, 230, PF, Apex (N.C.) Friendship)

• Josh Hall (6-8, 190, SF, Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep); From Durham, N.C.

• Camren Hayes (6-2, 175, PG, Greensboro (N.C.) Day)

• Shakeel Moore (6-1, 185, PG, Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep); From Greensboro, N.C.

Overview: Rivals.com ranked the Wolfpack’s five-man class at No. 7 overall in the country, but that'll change.

Four members are ranked in the Rivals150. Small forward Josh Hall is ranked No. 22 overall in the country, Hayes is at No. 69, Moore at No. 112 and Farrar checks in at No. 148.

The big drama for the offseason was whether Hall would enroll at NC State or pursue his shot at professional basketball. He picked the NBA on April 30. Because he is a post-graduate player, he’s eligible for the 2020 NBA Draft. Three class of 2020 prospects have joined the G-League, but those players aren’t draft eligible like Hall is.

Interesting tidbits: The formation of the class took some time only due to figuring out what year Hall, Moore and Hayes were going to be. Hall and Moore were originally in the class of 2019, but elected to do a post-graduate year at Moravian Prep, which paid off for NC State. Hayes was in the class of 2020, but then reclassified to 2021 when he left Greensboro Smith High to Greensboro Day. Hayes elected to just do two years at Greensboro Day instead of three, and went back to his original 2020 class.

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