On Monday, NC State basketball five-star signee Josh Hall, a native of Durham, N.C., announced that he would enter the NBA Draft process. Hall is eligible because the 19-year-old reclassified. He played the past two seasons at Moravian Prep in Hickory, N.C.
Hall’s father, Quincy Hall, noted that in many ways his son bet on himself by reclassifying, a process that the elder Hall admitted he was not necessarily a fan of himself a couple years ago. Josh Hall though had a great year, and he is using that as a springboard to see where he might stand with NBA teams.
“It’s a big process,” Quincy Hall said. “It’s a lot, and has been a lot for the last couple of days. I’m really not sure it has sunk in for him what happened.”
“We’re just testing the waters,” Quincy Hall added. “We’re in great standing with North Carolina State. [NC State head coach] Kevin Keatts, that guy is great. He is an awesome guy. I really mean this from the bottom of my heart.
"Anybody that knows me and my wife, they already know … we don’t trust just anybody with our kid. We want everything to be a perfect fit for him, as a lot of families do.”
Hall added that his son’s decision will ultimately be entirely his to make.
“His decision has nothing to do with me or my wife whatsoever,” he noted. “This is what every parent’s job is. When their child says they want to do something, and you can help your child do that, you do everything in your power to do that.
"That’s what he wants to do at the moment.”
The way the elder Hall sees it, his son is in a no-lose situation. Hall himself, a 7-footer, was a former basketball player at East Carolina, but he never had a chance to make it to the NBA because of injuries.
“This is every kid's dream from day one, me playing with him with a basketball at 2 years old or 13 months old,” Hall stated. “This has always been a dream of mine to see him play in the NBA. Whether in the next couple of months or whether it comes in the next nine months down the road after a career at North Carolina State, I’m going to be happy either way it goes.
“To be honest, if he chose to go to North Carolina State, I’m going to be happy because I would still love to see him play against the Dukes, the Carolinas and them guys. He’s a talent. Anybody that understands what they are looking at, this kid really has an understanding of basketball at his age. He really gets it.”
Hall noted that his son is a uniquely gifted, 6-foot-9, skilled hoops player. He has the capability to handle the ball and shoot like a guard, and Hall suspects that general managers will be impressed with his son's scoring abilities.
“I’m not speaking on this from a dad standpoint,” Hall clarified. “Anybody that knows me, knows I understand who my son is. At the end of the day when we’re talking basketball, when we’re talking skill set, when we’re talking things the NBA is based off and scoring the basketball, this kid has it. He has everything except for maturity of his body, and he’s only 19 years old. He can get that maturity of the body soon.”
It helps that Hall gets a chance to train with NBA pros, including Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum and Harry Giles of the Sacramento Kings.
“They call him their little brother,” Hall said. “They are always in the gym every chance we get. I’ve done that because I wanted him to always see what the pros are and how they carry themselves.”
Hall hopes that the NCAA and NBA can get together in light of the COVID-19-induced shutdowns of most states in the country and allow the draft prospects more time to make their decisions. From advisors Hall has already spoken with, there is not clarity on what is going to happen. Hall understands that some are discussing doing video interviews to respect social distancing guidelines.
Regardless, the Halls have a good idea of what it would take for him to stay in the draft.
“It would have to be a guaranteed [money] situation,” Hall said. “We are not looking for a quick paycheck. We want everything to be just right for him.”
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