4/16/2018 basketball Edit

NC State’s four prep signees ranked in final Rivals150

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

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Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends senior small forward Saddiq Bey was ranked No. 116 overall nationally in the final Rivals150. (Rivals.com)

All four of NC State’s prep men’s basketball signees finished ranked in the final Rivals150 for the class of 2018.

Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends small forward Saddiq Bey enters NC State with bragging rights for being the highest ranked signee. The 6-6, 185-pounder checks in at No. 116 overall in the class of 2018. Bey picked NC State over Miami, Xavier and Pittsburgh.

St. Louis Chaminade Prep small forward Jericole Hellems is 10 spots lower at No. 126 overall in the nation. The athletic 6-6, 190-pounder picked NC State over South Carolina, among others.

Prep teammates Ian Steere and Immanuel Bates, both center prospects at Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy, didn’t get to play together nearly as much as they had hoped on the prep level, but will get their chance at NC State.

The 6-8, 250-pound Steere checked in at No. 134 in the country, and the 6-9, 215-pound Bates was right behind him at No. 135. Steere originally verbally committed to Creighton, but wasted no time in deciding NC State was for him after decommitting from the Bluejays.

Bates had his senior year dampened after suffering a near-season ending shoulder injury in the preseason, that limited him to one game played. Bates selected NC State over Georgetown and South Carolina.

Both Bates and Steere are likely to show Wolfpack fans what they can do in the Josh Level Classic May 19 at Greensboro (N.C.) Dudley High. Final rosters will get announced in the near future.

Rivals.com ranks NC State’s collective five-man class No. 27 overall in the country. The Wolfpack had also signed former Ohio State power forward Derek Funderburk, who attends Niceville (Fla.) Florida State College. The team ranking does not include a trio of transfers — UNCW shooting guard C.J. Bryce, Utah small forward Devon Daniels and Missouri point guard Blake Harris. The latter could have to sit out the first semester if he doesn’t get a waiver.

NC State has one remaining scholarship available and brought in Samford graduate center transfer Wyatt Walker for an official visit this past weekend. Kentucky power forward Sacha Killeya-Jones also listed NCSU in his top 10, and would sit out a year and have two years of eligibility remaining.