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Hearing the doubts surrounding the team
after Daniels' injury ignited a fire in Hel-
lems.
"God bless Dev, but I had to step up," he
explained.
Hellems noted that Daniels was like a
big brother to him on the Pack team. Hel-
lems has been fortunate to have good men-
tors growing up. In St. Louis, he followed
the footsteps of NBA stars Jayson Tatum
and Beal at Chaminade.
"It always inspired me to be one of those
top players coming out of St. Louis," Hel-
lems noted.
Yet he had few qualms about leaving
his hometown for college. He wanted to
explore new horizons, which is where NC
State came into play.
"I think it was just an all-around feel
and timing, perfect timing," Hellems said.
"This was where I was supposed to be."
Entering year four, Hellems has suc-
ceeded in making a name for himself, how-
ever you want to refer to him, and he has
developed the wisdom and leadership that
come with experience.
"At the end of the day, you are going to
hit trials and tribulations," he said, "but it's
about pushing forward and just keep put-
ting in the work and believing." ■
"
I can't ever give up on anything
that I put my mind to, especially
with the game of basketball. I've
got so much love for it, and I know
what I can do now that I have put
in the hours and work for it.
"
Hellems
