4/30/2020 football Edit

Josh Hall to skip college, stay in NBA Draft

Matt Carter • TheWolfpackCentral

Editor

NC State Wolfpack Basketball Five-Star Signee Josh Hall Has Decided That He Will Skip College And Remain In The NBA Draft

For the second straight year, NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts has lost a marquee piece in his recruiting class.

Five-star forward Josh Hall, a Durham, N.C., native that played at Moravian Prep in Hickory, N.C., has announced that rather than enrolling at NC State he will remain in the NBA Draft.

The lanky 6-foot-8, 190-pound Hall made the announcement Thursday night on Twitter.

Rivals.com ranked Hall the No. 22 prospect in the class. His departure leaves Keatts with four signings: four-star guards Cam Hayes from Greensboro (N.C.) Day School and Shakeel Moore, a teammate of Hall at Moravian Prep; three-star forward Nick Farrar from Apex (N.C.) Friendship and three-star center Ebenezer Dowuona from Newnan (Ga.) Heritage School.

Hayes is the highest rated of the four at No. 69, while both Moore (No. 112) and Farrar (No. 148) were in the Rivals150.

NC State is still awaiting word from redshirt junior forward D.J. Funderburk, whose name is on the early entrant list for the draft. Redshirt junior guard Devon Daniels had been expected to join Funderburk, but he had a change of heart and did not enter.

NC State point guard signee Jalen Lecque was in a similar position last year, where he attended high school for five years and was eligible for the 2019 NBA Draft. He entered the draft went through the process and ultimately stayed in. Lecque didn't get drafted, but ended up signing a four-year deal with the Phoenix Suns, with the first two years guaranteed at a reported $800,000 a season.

Lecque played in the G-League and averaged 13.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and .5 assists per game, and shot 41.1 percent from the field and 21.7 percent on three-pointers.