NC State women’s basketball received good recruiting news Friday before the start of the NCAA Tournament.
Bartlett (Tenn.) High 6-foot-5 junior center Mallory Collier picked NC State over North Carolina, LSU, West Virginia, Rutgers, Ole Miss, Clemson, Alabama, Memphis and Vanderbilt.
“They have been recruiting me for a while now,” said Collier, 16. “It was a good experience to have all the colleges recruit me. I just felt like NC State was the place to be for me.
“They had just come for a home visit. It just sealed the deal basically.”
Collier loves how NC State makes sure senior center Elissa Cunane gets touches in the post. She hopes to study criminal justice with a minor in psychology.
“I love her game and I watch her,” Collier said. “They showed me how she works and how I could be another Elissa Cunane when I go there. I feel like watching her is a really good opportunity to follow in her footsteps.”
Collier averaged 13.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game this season at her school just outside of Memphis. She is from nearby Millington, Tenn.
“I feel like I’m a very competitive player that works hard just to get better,” Collier said.
Collier and her family clicked with NC State coach Wes Moore because they both have something in common — a love for Tennessee-Chattanooga basketball.
Moore coached at UT-C from 1998-2013 before coming to NC State. Mallory Collier’s dad, Marquis Collier, was a 6-8, 240-pound junior college from Brevard Community College in Cocoa, Florida, and transferred to play for the Mocs from 1995-97, just before Moore arrived.
Marquis Collier averaged 10.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game off the bench his senior year, and went on a memorable Sweet 16 run in 1996-97. UT-C topped No. 3-seeded Georgia and then No. 6-seeded Illinois, before falling 71-65 to No. 10-seeded Providence in the Sweet 16 to finish 24-11. He played with future NBA first-round pick Johnny Taylor under coach Mack McCarthy.
“Coach is a very funny cool person and out-going,” Collier said. “With my dad going to UT-C, there is just connections. He just barely missed Coach Moore.”
Collier attended several Get Me Recruited Camps in Raleigh and she was able to check out NC State while in town years ago.
“Get Me Recruited helped me get my first visit there, but I had another visit around my birthday last August,” Collier said.
Collier has a to-do list on what she hopes to improve going into her senior year. She’s part of the powerhouse FBC traveling team organization.
“I definitely want to run the floor and be an overall better player,” Collier said. “I want to get to the boards, defense and just all-around things.”
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