NC State Wolfpack basketball head coach Kevin Keatts has already landed three commits in the 2021 class.
Four-star forward Ernest Ross (6-foot-9, 210 pounds) from Santa Fe High in Alachua, Fla., is the highest rated. Ross picked NC State over offers from Florida, LSU, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, South Florida, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and Xavier after he averaged 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocks per game as a junior. Rivals.com ranks Ross as the No. 54 senior in the country.
Four-star guard Terquavion Smith (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) from Farmville (N.C.) Central High was the Pack's first commit in the 2021 class, picking NC State during his sophomore year. Smith's strong summer saw him rise up the rankings at No. 99 in the country.
The most recent pledge was three-star point guard Breon Pass from Reidsville (N.C.) High. The 6-foot, 175-pounder has averaged 20.7 points, 7.6 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.1 steals per game over his career. Georgia Tech, Providence, Rutgers and St. Johns had also offered him.
NC State is still targeting at least one more player for the class, and a long-time prospect has been Roosevelt Wheeler, a 6-foot-10, 230-pound, four-star center from John Marshall High in Richmond, Va., that Rivals.com ranks as the No. 42 recruit in the 2021 class.
On Saturday, NC State learned that it was in the top five for Wheeler, along with Hampton, Louisville, LSU and VCU.
This summer, Rivals.com ranked NC State as the top contender for Wheeler. Three Rivals.com analysts have issued FutureCast projections for NC State with Wheeler.
As a junior, Wheeler was all-state after averaging 15.8 points, 11.9 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game.
The Pack also made the top 10 for rapidly-rising 7-footer Jonas Aidoo from Liberty Heights in Charlotte. NC State offered Aidoo earlier in the fall, along with a host of other programs.
The other schools on Aidoo's favorites list include Georgia, Houston, Kansas, Marquette, Miami, Providence, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wake Forest.
After a breakout summer, Aidoo earned a fourth star from Rivals.com and checks in at No. 104 nationally.
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