The Wolfpacker

Jan.-Feb. 2020

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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86 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ BASKETBALL RECRUITING announcing his intentions to stay close to home Aug. 7, two days after he was given the tender. Hayes and Dowuona both of- ficially visited the Wolfpack during the fall and wanted to join the party in Raleigh. NC State and Hayes, in particular, tar- geted Hall, and eventually Moore was re- prioritized down the stretch. Hayes played traveling team ball with Moore last spring and summer on CP3. That allowed Keatts to know Moore could play off the ball in college with Hayes. Hall joined the squad for one weekend, and Hayes got to know the skilled inside- outside forward. Moore transferred from Greensboro Piedmont Classical to Mora- vian Prep and is playing with Hall this season. "Cam Hayes texted me when Josh com- mitted and said, 'Man, I did a great job,'" Keatts said. "It is becoming popular for in- state guys to come to NC State. That is one of those things that we wanted to happen." Dowuona is the first Georgia product to pick NC State since wing Jaqawn Ray- mond of Statesboro (Ga.) High in the class of 2011, who played one year for the Wolf- pack before he transferred to Middle Ten- nessee State. "Ebenezer is a little bit more skilled of- fensively at this point than Manny," Keatts said. "He can step out and do a few more things than Manny. He's a tremendous shot blocker, similar to Manny." Hall Plays With A Chip On His Shoulder Hall has always been the underdog, but not anymore. He was a 6-3, 165-pound freshman wing at Southern Durham High when his jour- ney began. He improved over each of his first three years of high school, but his inside-outside, guard-oriented skills started to blossom as his body grew to 6-8 and 190 pounds. "It's going to be big time playing against the schools that are pretty much in my backyard in the best conference in college basketball," Hall said about suiting up in a great league like the ACC. Hall's explosion started to come in No- vember of his original senior year, and continued during the spring and summer with the Team Loaded NC traveling squad on the adidas circuit. Part of what makes Hall unique is his comfort level on the perimeter. Hall's fa- ther, Quincy Hall, was a 7-0 center for East Carolina, where he averaged 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 47 contests with the Pirates (1998-2000). The younger Hall figured he'd probably get tall at some point, but his dad didn't want him stuck in the post. "I can get the ball and push it myself," Hall said. The other part of Hall's drive to become a well-rounded person stems from learning from his mother, who is an attorney. "She stays on me about my schoolwork," he said. "I also see the long nights with her and paper work. I have a good set of role models." Hall averaged 14.8 points and 3.6 re- bounds in 10 games played on the adidas circuit with Team Loaded NC. He shot an impressive 14 of 34 (41.2 percent) on three-pointers. Moore Knew The Time Was Right Moore wasn't quite sure what to make of his recruitment in September, but it crystal- ized quickly for him. Moore was looking at Providence, Ole Miss, DePaul, Pittsburgh, NC State and perhaps a few other colleges. The Wolfpack landed his good friend Hayes Sept. 13, and Moore then canceled his official visit to the Wolfpack, which was set for the weekend of Sept. 20-22. Moore figured he was set to verbally commit to Providence, but then the Friars went in another direction and he essentially began his recruitment anew. Georgetown offered, with Ole Miss and DePaul remain- ing as constants. NC State continued to recruit Moore's teammate at Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep, Hall. Then NCSU lost junior point guard Blake Harris, who elected to depart the program. The dance with the Wolfpack, which had begun with him earning a schol- arship June 23 following being evaluated at the NBPA Camp in mid-June and team camp at NCSU, was back on. Even as late as early November, Moore figured NC State would be a prominent factor in his recruitment, but that he wanted to wait for the April signing period. In- stead, he figured why delay it? Moore ver- bally committed to NC State Nov. 16, after watching the Wolfpack whip St. Francis Brooklyn at Reynolds Coliseum. "I thought it was a good for me and also with them doing so much for me," Moore said. "It was hectic with all the schools calling, day in and day out, but it was fun for me because it wasn't something every kid is used to." Moore played in front of the Wolfpack coaches Nov. 15, but was limited by a mi- nor back injury in a victory. "That felt great," Moore said. "I didn't play well, and I got injured, but they know my game. They've watched me plenty of times. It felt good that they were on the baseline watching Josh and me." The Greensboro native attended Rags- dale (N.C.) High his freshman year, and then spent three years at Greensboro Pied- mont Classical High. He played for Team United, Team Loaded NC and CP3 the last few years in traveling team basketball. Moore averaged 16.8 points, 4.6 re- bounds and 3.6 assists per game for CP3 in 14 contests. He shot 51.9 percent from the field, 35.7 percent on three-pointers and 55.0 percent at the free throw line in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. Dowuona Felt At Home At NC State Dowuona started dreaming about play- ing for NC State during his official visit Sept. 13-15. The Rivals.com three-star prospect still Greensboro native Shakeel Moore — a 6-1, 185-pounder who is listed as the nation's No. 40 shooting guard by Rivals.com — plays with Josh Hall at Moravian Prep and decided to join him in Raleigh. PHOTO COURTESY ED DELGADO/JON LOPEZ CREATIVE "I'm excited about our future. … When you look at the guys that we signed, all five fill a need for us. All of these guys could have chosen to go somewhere else, but decided to come to NC State." ■ Keatts

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