The Wolfpacker

40 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY JACEY ZEMBAL N orth Carolina has an array of top-end talent poised to be elite recruits in the next year or two. NC State has offered four in-state players between the classes of 2015 and 2016, and Rivals.com ranks all four among the top 25 players in the country in their respective classes. Kinston High junior small forward Bran- don Ingram, High Point Wesleyan Christian sophomore power forward Harry Giles, Pi- netown Northside High sophomore center Edrice Adebayo and Fayetteville Trinity Christian sophomore point guard Dennis Smith Jr. are the next wave of talent in the state. NC State has offered all four, and defi- nitely were the first ACC program to offer Ingram, Adebayo and Smith. Giles' timeline is more unknown, but the Wolfpack could have been first in line with him also. Rivals.com ranks the 6-7, 180-pound In- gram No. 24 in the country in 2015. The 6-8, 220-pound Giles ranks No. 2 in the class of 2016, with 6-8, 220-pound Adebayo at No. 9 and the 6-2, 170-pound Smith at No. 16. The class of 2016 almost had a fourth in-state member in the top 16. Small for- ward V.J. King — whom NC State has also offered and is ranked No. 7 in the coun- try — lived in Charlotte before moving to Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary for his ninth-grade year. The class of 2017 already has a few play- ers making noise, including Concord High shooting guard TyShon Alexander, Concord Robinson High point guard Lavar Batts and Fayetteville E.E. Smith High shooting guard Jatarious "J.J." Smith, but the trio hasn't earned NC State offers yet. ■ Brandon Ingram Junior • Shooting Guard • Kinston Ingram earned his first Division I offer from NC State on Feb. 26, 2013, and the Wolfpack have been battling for his services ever since. Ingram lead Kinston High to its third straight 2A state title with a 67-57 win over Spencer North Rowan High March 15 at historic Reynolds Coliseum. "In the ninth grade, I didn't have as big a role as now in the 11th grade," Ingram said. "Every year I've stepped into a bigger role." Ingram was eager to show his vast im- provement in the state title game, where he scored 23 of his 28 points in the second half and finished with 16 rebounds. "I'm developing more and just paying at- tention to detail, and being more of a leader," Ingram said. "I'm more vocal. I'm attacking the basket a lot. People thought I relied on my shot a lot. I'm being more aggressive." Ingram's first state title also came at Reynolds his freshman year. "I remember I didn't shoot the ball well, but I stepped up and knocked down my free throws well in the clutch," Ingram said. "It was very loud there." Ingram, who averaged a shade less than 20 points per game for 26-4 Kinston, has collected scholarship offers from NC State, North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest, Lou- isville, Minnesota, Clemson, Virginia Tech and VCU, plus interest from Kansas and Kentucky. NCSU assistant coach Rob Moxley has been the point man on Ingram's recruitment. Ingram hopes to convert some of the schools showing interest during the spring and summer when college coaches watch him with Jerry Stackhouse Elite on the adi- das circuit. He anticipates making a college decision during the fall of his senior year. "My recruitment is coming on strong," said Ingram, who had to postpone a Louis- ville official visit due to the Kinston playoff run. "It's been exciting and a lot of schools have been hitting me up. I'm very happy with my recruitment, but I don't have any favorites right now." NC State head coach Mark Gottfried watched Ingram play against Trinity High in Fayetteville during the playoffs, and UNC head coach Roy Williams traveled for a playoff game at Fairmount High. Ingram attended the North Carolina at Duke game March 8. He grew up a Blue Devils fan and earned a long-awaited Duke offer April 21 during an in-home visit. Ingram said he tries to envision what he'd be at each of the schools that have been actively recruiting him. UNC, which he of- ficially visited Jan. 25-27, was able to get Star-Studded State North Carolina Is Loaded With Prep Talent Small forward Brandon Ingram, who has helped Kinston High to three straight North Carolina 2A state titles, is rated as the No. 24 overall prospect among rising seniors. PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBAL 40-42,44.BKB Recruiting Look Ahead.indd 40 4/29/14 3:39 PM

• Cover