The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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28 ■ THE WOLFPACKER A two-sport athlete, Wolfpack head coach Dave Doeren also offered him a football scholarship. He also earned football offers from North Carolina, Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas A&M, but he ultimately chose to focus on basketball dur- ing the summer prior to his senior season. "Breon is an incredible athlete," Keatts said. "You're talking about a young man that was heavily recruited by Power Five programs in basketball and football. He's just a very talented young man. I love his competitiveness. He's a tough, hard-nose competitor. He's a playmaker that can hunt his own shot and also set up his teammates for easy baskets. "I think with him now focusing solely on basketball, you're going to see an already talented basketball player take it to the next level." "Football helps me with my toughness," Pass added. "In football, you get knocked down, you get hit hard. A lot of bruises, a lot of injuries. I feel like playing football has helped me with basketball a lot — my hand-eye coordination, my ability to jump, really everything." That toughness helped him become one of the best athletes of all time at Reidsville. He scored 2,219 points over his four-year career, setting the school's scoring record. He averaged 32.6 points, 12.3 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 70.9 percent from the field, 54.0 percent on threes and 87.3 percent from the free throw line during his senior season. "Breon is arguably the best player to ever play for Reidsville," Ross said. "He's just meant so much. I am excited for him to continue at NC State. From day one, he was a leader. He came in focused, in game shape, and he told me, 'Coach, I am ready to play.' I just saw an overall growth as a basketball player. "He made shots as a senior he could not make last year. He's worked on his ball- handling, but the most impressive thing to me is his work on the defensive end. I think that's going to be one of his strengths when he gets to NC State. The way he hawks the ball, the way he moves his feet, he's just a tremendous player." A Fresh Start For Two Transfers The Wolfpack also added two transfers, both of which have similar back stories. Morsell (Virginia) and Gantt (Provi- dence) didn't put up mesmerizing numbers in their first two seasons at the college level, but they'll be the two highest-ranked players from their respective classes on NC State's roster next year according to Rivals' recruit- ing rankings. "Coach Keatts just told me he watched me enough over my career to know that I have the ability to be a 'dude' in any league," Gantt said. "He plans to allow me to get back to being the top-50 player I was in high school. I just have to show that I am still that kind of player, and I am looking forward to that challenge. "It's a great opportunity to come home and play in one of the best conferences in the country and play with guys I know. There has been a long-standing relationship with Coach Keatts that made me feel confi- dent about this being the right place." The native of Fayetteville, N.C., attended Trinity Christian School, and was listed as a four-star recruit, the No. 13 power forward and No. 55 overall player in the 2019 class by Rivals.com. Originally recruited by NC State out of high school, Gantt committed to Providence over offers from the Wolfpack, Texas, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Florida, among others. The 6-8, 220-pounder made 12 starts in 53 appearances during his first two collegiate sea- sons with the Friars, and averaged 3.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 assist per contest. "It's a great system fit," Rivals.com na- tional recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw said. "I like the length factor, I like the versatility factor, and I really like the defensive factor. He's got athleticism and pop, too. Standing 6-8, there's a lot of different things he can do, especially on the defensive end of the floor, which is what Keatts lives and dies by on the defensive end. "On the Providence side of things, it might not have been a great fit. They run the flex of- fense, and I'm not entirely sure if that's what suits Greg as a player. Keatts is more spread out and pick-and-roll, and it suits Greg's offensive abilities a little bit more. The first two years at Providence was just a mismatch between player and program." Morsell was rated as a four-star talent and the No. 11 shooting guard and No. 49 overall prospect in the 2019 class by Rivals.com. He ultimately picked Virginia over offers from Florida, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma State, Maryland and Georgetown, among others. The Washington, D.C., native made 15 starts in 53 appearances for the Cavaliers over two seasons, and averaged 4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 18.8 minutes per game. "A lot of folks saw Morsell as being the next Malcolm Brogdon-like physical de- fender, a guy who could fit in on both ends," Brad Franklin of CavsCorner.com said. "He was expected to be able to defend multiple spots and come off screens while handling the ball at times. "He came from winning programs, both at the high school and AAU levels." ■ Forward Greg Gantt, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., transferring from Providence, was a four-star recruit ranked No. 55 overall in the 2019 class by Rivals.com. He'll be the second-highest-ranked recruit by Rivals on the Wolfpack roster next year. PHOTO COURTESY PROVIDENCE 2021 NC State Men's Basketball Recruiting Class And Transfers Recruiting National Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Rank Hometown (Previous School) Greg Gantt PF 6-8 220 2019 55 Fayetteville, N.C. (Providence) Casey Morsell SG 6-3 196 2019 49 Fort Washington, Md. (Virginia) Breon Pass PG 6-0 175 2021 N/A Reidsville, N.C. (Reidsville H.S) Ernest Ross PF 6-9 210 2021 76 Alachua, Fla. (Santa Fe H.S.) Terquavion Smith SG 6-3 175 2021 100 Farmville, N.C. (Farmville Central H.S.)