The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 2020-2021 MEN'S BASKETBALL PREVIEW Duke, NC State was trending in the right di- rection. BracketMatrix.com, a website that combines over 100 mock brackets on the In- ternet and compiles one master edition, had NC State in the NCAA Tournament before COVID-19 changed everything. For veterans like Beverly, while the team may not talk much about it, returning to the Big Dance is the clear mission. "I don't think that anybody will come to a school like this if they didn't want to get there and play on that stage," Beverly con- ceded. "I think it's more of just making sure that everybody's on the same page." Funderburk agreed, noting the potential of this team is high, but it must come to- gether and find its consistency. "We have crazy potential," Funderburk said. "If you were to see practice, sometimes you'd think we could be a national champ. But then there's other times, just like any team, where we're not completely locked in. "I feel like that's going be our biggest key this year — just all play together and trust each other. "We're so new and young. I feel like if we all lock in and really trust each other and what we all can do, then we'll be fine. I feel like we could beat anybody when we do that." Options Fill Up The Backcourt The known mainstay on the perimeter will be fifth-year senior Devon Daniels. A year ago, Daniels littered the box score by averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.7 steals per game. By the end of the season, he had developed into one of the Wolfpack's most well-rounded players. He scored a career-high 25 points and added nine rebounds in NC State's throt- tling of then-No. 6 Duke Feb. 19, and fol- lowed that up by producing 18 points and nine boards against then-No. 8 Florida State three days later. Daniels was named ACC Player of the Week for the efforts. He also had 23 points in a win over Pitt at the ACC Tournament in what proved to be the Pack's final game of the season. When speaking of his expectations for Daniels this season, Keatts said he just wants what he saw last year. "I don't want him to think that he has to do so much," the coach stated. "I want him to be the Devon Daniels that played last year, that at the end of the year was a really, really good basketball player. That's the part that I am looking for." Surrounding Daniels in the backcourt will be one of the more interesting developments to follow during the early parts of the season. The most experienced guard is senior Braxton Beverly. "Braxton is my age now — he and I played high school together," Keatts joked. "I tease him about that all the time." After starting 55 of the 66 games he played his first two seasons and averag- ing 9.4 points per contest, Beverly saw his playing time and production dip slightly a season ago due to a nagging back injury. However, Beverly's steady ball-handling and career 2.4-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio is an option to handle the point guard duties va- cated by the graduation of Markell Johnson. Keatts feels that Beverly is healthy enter- ing this season, but how much point guard he will play is unclear. "He has to stay healthy as much as he can, and he's got to be able to play some point guard because we do have some young guys," Keatts said. The "young guys" the coach is referring to are Hayes and fellow freshman Shakeel Moore, the headliners in NC State's five- player recruiting class that was signed in 2020. Both are Greensboro natives, with Hayes rated slightly higher in Rivals.com's final class of 2020 national rankings at No. 76 overall, while Moore checked in at No. 115. Hayes helped Greensboro Day go 35-1 as a senior by averaging 13.9 points and 4.5 assists per game. The Greensboro News & Record named him the area's Private/Char- ter Schools Player of the Year. Moore played last season with power- house Moravian Prep in Hickory, N.C., where one of his teammates was one-time five-star NC State signee Josh Hall, a Dur- ham, N.C., native that decided to turn pro instead of enrolling in Raleigh. Keatts has hinted that Hayes may be a bit further along because of his shooting, but they want him to be more effective driving to the basket. Conversely, Moore is a good athlete, strong defender and attacks the rim well, but he needs to improve his jumper. Another factor in the backcourt will be Thomas Allen, a local native who played high school basketball at Garner (N.C.) High for three years. Allen is a redshirt junior that sat out last season after transfer- ring from Nebraska, where he averaged 8.7 points per game as a sophomore. Allen is similar in some ways to Beverly: a strong shooter who can play both guard positions. The wildcard in the backcourt is redshirt freshman Dereon Seabron. Rivals.com ranked the 6-7 Seabron as the No. 124 pros- pect nationally in the 2019 class, when he signed with the Wolfpack over offers from Georgia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Providence and VCU. Keatts called Seabron the most versatile player on a versatile team. "I'm in a good place," Keatts said. "I feel like I'm a football coach because every- body's wondering who the starting quar- terback is going to be. I've got several guys that I feel comfortable can play the point. I feel very confident with whoever we roll out Freshman Cam Hayes, a four-star recruit ranked 76th nationally by Rivals.com, will get his chance to claim a role right off the bat, possibly even as the starting point guard. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM