The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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2013 basketball recruiting issue "We are going to be real good," Caleb Martin said. Rivals.com ranks Caleb Martin No. 40 and Cody Martin No. 51 in the class of 2014. The do-it-all 6-6 wings hope to continue to improve this offseason. "I want to definitely get more wing play at my position and be stronger," Caleb Martin said. "I want to get an advantage over anybody at my position by getting stronger and getting after people." Cody Martin wants to add weight to his 198-pound frame and become a better ball handler. "I want to get more explosive and quicker," Cody Martin said. Ten To Watch Abdul-Malik Abu, Meriden (N.H.) Kimball Union Academy: Rivals.com ranks the physical 6-7, 233-pound power forward No. 50 overall in the country for the class of 2014. NC State offered him following the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League No. 2 in Hampton, Va., in late April. The Wolfpack joins Boston College, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Iowa State, Maryland, Miami (Fla.), Michigan State, Providence, Rhode Island, Rutgers (old staff), Temple and Wisconsin. Abu plays for the Expressions Elite traveling team on the Nike EYBL circuit. Cliff Alexander, Chicago Curie: The 6-8, 240-pound man-child in the paint can dunk with authority around the goal, clean the boards and is an active shot blocker. NC State head coach Mark Gottfried went to see Rivals.com's No. 5-ranked center in December. Alexander has offers from NC State, Kentucky, Michigan State, DePaul, Illinois, UConn, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Michigan, Missouri, Tennessee and Wisconsin. Alexander played in April with Mac Irvin Fire, and has been with the Derrick Rose All-Stars in the past in traveling team basketball. Leron Black, Memphis (Tenn.) White Station: The 6-7, 215-pound Black is the No. 16 overall player in the country according to Rivals.com. Black verbally committed to Baylor Sept. 17, 2012, but then opened it back up Jan. 3, 2013. Baylor, NC State, UConn, Florida, Kansas, Georgia Tech, Illinois, Memphis, Missouri, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have offered, and Duke, Ohio State and Kentucky have expressed interest in the versatile power forward. Gottfried signed Ernest Shelton out of White Station High when he coached at Alabama. Black, who has been hobbled this spring with an injury, plays for Team Thad in traveling team basketball. Payton Dastrup, Mesa (Ariz.) Mountain View: The 6-9, 225-pound Dastrup could also be considered part of the class of 2016 because he plans on doing a two-year Mormon mission after high school. Gottfried watched Rivals.com's No. 52-ranked overall player in the nation at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League event in the Los Angeles area April 19-21, and offered the center. He also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Boston College, BYU, California, Colorado, Florida, Oregon, Oregon State, Stanford, Texas A&M, USC, Utah, Utah State, Virginia and Washington State, plus interest from Kansas, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Georgetown. Dastrup will play with Cali Supreme this offseason, but is out until late May with an injury. Jakeenan Gant, Sprinfield (Ga.) Effingham County: The athletic 6-8, 200-pound power forward was offered by NC State following the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League opener in the Los Angeles area in mid-April. The Rivals.com No. 25-ranked overall player in the class of 2014 has offers from NCSU, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Marquette, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia and Xavier. Gant plays for the Southern Stampede traveling team. Kevon Looney, Milwaukee Hamilton: Rivals.com's No. 8-ranked overall player in the country oozes versatility at the forward position. He can play inside and outside and has a knack for rebounding at 6-8 and 210 pounds. NC State, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Illinois, Kansas, Marquette, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Missouri, Tennessee. Florida, Stanford, UCLA and Wisconsin have offered him, and Duke is showing interest. Looney plays traveling team basketball with the Milwaukee Rebels. Emmanuel Mudiay, Dallas Prime Prep: Rivals.com's No. 2 overall player in the country and top point guard attends the recently created school that former NFL/MLB standout Deion Sanders created. The 6-4, 185-pounder narrowed his list to 10 colleges — NC State, Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Oklahoma State, SMU, St. John's and Texas. He'll play with the Texas Pro traveling team this spring and summer in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. Theo Pinson, High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan: The 6-5, 170-pound athletic wing visited NC State each of the last two years, and helped Wesleyan win the NCISAA 3A state title. Rivals.com ranks Pinson as the No. 15 overall player in the country, and he has offers from NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech, UConn, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville, Marquette, Ohio Theo Pinson, a 6-5, 170-pound athletic wing from High Point (N.C.) Wesleyan, is ranked as the No. 15 overall player in the country in the class of 2014 by Rivals.com. photo by jacey zembal State, South Carolina, Syracuse and Tennessee. He officially visited Indiana Feb. 2. Pinson will play with the Chris Paul All-Stars this offseason. Reid Travis, Minneapolis De La Salle: NC State signed Kyle Washington of Champlin, Minn., last year, and the Pack is trying again with Travis. The 6-7, 225-pound power forward led De La Salle to a second straight state title. Colleges are lined up for Rivals. com's No. 41-ranked overall player in the country. He claims offers from Minnesota, Arizona, Boston College, Butler, Colorado, Colorado State, Creighton, Harvard, Iowa State, Michigan State, Nebraska, Northwestern, Notre Dame, Penn State, Purdue, USC and Washington State, plus Iowa in football. Travis' brother, Jonah Travis, is a rising sophomore forward at Harvard, and his cousin, Ross Travis, is a junior power forward at Penn State. Travis is playing with the Howard Pulley traveling program this offseason. Craig Victor, New Orleans St. Augustine: Gottfried made sure to watch Victor play during the first evaluation event in Dallas April 20. Rivals.com ranks the 6-8, 200-pound power forward as the No. 24 overall player in the nation. NC State, Arizona, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas, Miami, Baylor, Georgetown, Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, UCLA, Tulane and Kentucky are some of the schools in the mix. Arizona will likely get one of his five official visits, and he plays with the New Orleans Elite in traveling team basketball. ■ For regular reports on NC State basketball recruiting, plus videos of Wolfpack commitments and targets, visit TheWolfpacker.com. 36 ■ the wolfpacker 34,36.2014 BKB Recruiting Notes.indd 36 4/30/13 3:35 PM