The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Three Men's Basketball Signees Selected To All-Star Games NC State's men's basketball recruiting class, which Rivals.com ranks No. 7 nationally for the class of 2020 as of Feb. 25, has three players already selected for postseason all-star games. Senior forward signee Josh Hall of Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep was picked to play in the Iverson Classic April 24 at the 76ers Fieldhouse Arena in Philadelphia. Rivals.com ranks Hall as a five-star tal- ent and the No. 22 overall prospect nationally. The Iverson Classic includes 12 players that were picked for the McDonald's All-American Game, and it has become one of the preeminent all-star games in the country. When the rosters were released, Allen Iverson announced that the game would be dedicated to Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant, who were killed in a helicopter crash Jan. 26. Senior point guard Camren Hayes of Greensboro (N.C.) Day was selected to the East squad of the North Carolina Private School All-Star Game Feb. 29 at Charlotte (N.C.) Providence. Hayes is ranked No. 69 overall in the country by Rivals.com. Power forward Nick Farrar of Apex (N.C.) Friend- ship was selected to the North Carolina squad of public school players, who will take on South Caro- lina March 28 at Wilmington (N.C.) Hoggard High. On Jan. 28, Rivals.com inserted Farrar into the national rankings at No. 148 overall. NC State has also signed Hall's prep teammate, combo guard Shakeel Moore, who cracked the Rivals150 at No. 112 overall in the country; and three-star center prospect Ebenezer Dowu- ona of Newnan (Ga.) Heritage School. Wolfpack Volleyball Hires Luka Slabe NC State hired Luka Slabe as its new volleyball coach Feb. 10. Slabe returns to the college ranks for the first time since 2018. He had been an assistant at his alma mater, BYU, from 2015-18. The Cougars were the NCAA runners-up in 2016 and 2017, and reached the Final Four in 2018. He also was part of BYU's 2001 NCAA championship squad as a player. Slabe has been an assistant coach for the USA Women's Volleyball National Team since 2018. He worked under volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, helping the American squad qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Slabe will remain on the USA volleyball staff through the 2020 Olym- pics, while running the NC State program. "I am honored to be considered for this position," Slabe said. "My wife, Tina, our two chil- dren and I are excited to continue our journey as a part of the Wolfpack family. I would like to thank director of athletics Boo Corrigan, senior associate athletic director Raymond Harrison and the entire Wolfpack Nation for this opportunity. "I would also like to thank USA Volleyball for all the support during this transition and during our pursuit of a gold Olympic medal in Tokyo." "We had an incredible pool of candidates from all backgrounds and levels of experience, but Luka's vision for NC State volleyball and tactical acumen stood out in this process," Corrigan said in a statement released by the school. "Luka has an incredible set of experiences both domestically and internationally, and we feel he has the approach and leadership necessary to help us fulfill our incredible potential in volleyball." NC State went 11-19 overall and 6-12 in the ACC last year under former coach Linda Hamp- ton-Keith. Alexis Galarneau, Tennis The senior from Laval, Canada, was named the Divi- sion I Men's Player of the Week by the Intercollegiate Tennis As- sociation Jan. 28 after playing an integral role in NC State reaching its first-ever ITA Division I National Men's Team Indoor Champion- ships. Galarneau scored a notable win over preseason No. 1-ranked Carl Soderlund of Virginia to help the Pack advance. The NC State men's tennis team has since reached its highest-ever ranking in the Oracle/ITA rankings in program history, checking in at No. 9 Feb. 19. Sam Russ, Softball The softball team's 11-4 start to the 2020 season was the best 15-game opening stretch in program history, and the junior outfielder from Charlotte was leading the way at the plate. She was batting .400 (20 for 50) with a pair of doubles, a triple and a homer while starting all 15 contests. She led the ACC in runs scored (17) and stolen bases (16). Russ was second-team All-ACC in 2019 after bat- ting a team-best .326 and swiping a program-record 32 bases. Alana Smith, Tennis H e l p i n g l e a d t h e way fo r No. 3-ranked NC State, the soph- omore from Fort Washington, Md., was 11-3 in dual singles play through Feb. 25, including an im- pressive 10-2 record at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. Two of her three setbacks there were to top-10 foes, but she has defeated four other rated opponents. Smith, ranked No. 16 nationally in singles, has also teamed with senior Anna Rogers to form the nation's No. 2-ranked doubles tandem. They have gone 25-4 thus far be- tween the fall and spring. Nick Swiney, Baseball It's difficult to imagine a better beginning to the season on the mound than what Swiney pro- duced in his first two starts. The junior from Huntersville, N.C., won both appearances, the season opener against James Madison Feb. 14 and versus Tennessee Tech a week later, allow- ing only seven hits and two earned runs in 13 innings. Most impressive was Swiney struck out a career-high 11 batters in both starts while walking only four hitters. PACK PERFORMERS TRACKING THE PACK NC State signee Josh Hall is ranked as the No. 22 senior nationally by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM 16 ■ THE WOLFPACKER