The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK WOMEN'S BASKETBALL LANDS FIVE COMMITMENTS NC State women's basketball head coach Wes Moore had a barrage of com- mitments in July and August for four different recruiting classes —2015, 2016, 2017 and even 2019. The class of 2015 earned verbal commitments Aug. 4 from Raleigh Broughton senior point guard Kaila Ealey and Charlotte Myers Park senior power forward Rydeiah Rogers. Ealey and Rogers joined previous commits Amber Richardson of Southeast Raleigh and Buford (Ga.) High shooting guard Camile Anderson. Bret McCormick of All-Star Girls Report ranked Rogers No. 102 overall in the class of 2015, Richardson was No. 108, Anderson was No. 143, and Ealey was No. 153. Collectively, the Wolfpack's class of 2015 ranks No. 24 in the country. McCormick said there wasn't much difference between the players ranked in the 60s or the 150s in this particular recruiting class. "There are a lot of good kids in that area, and it is neat that they can keep them home," McCormick said. "NC State is making themselves better fast and is doing it with local talent." The 6-1 Rogers is the daughter of former Durham (N.C.) Hillside star Rodney Rogers, who played for Wake Forest and in the NBA. Her older sister Roddreka Rogers is a junior power forward at Georgia Tech. Rogers averaged 16.0 points and 12.7 rebounds per game last season, and she had 25 points and 20 boards in the North Carolina 4-A state title game, a 61-46 win over Southeast Raleigh and Richardson. "She is a real high energy player and a great athlete," McCormick said. "She is a great rebounder and does the little things. She just has to extend her game to the perimeter a little more." Ealey had committed to previous NCSU head coach Kellie Harper, but following the coaching change, opened her recruitment back up according to the News & Observer. The 5-8 point guard averaged 19.7 points for a 20-4 Broughton team, and considered George Mason, Old Dominion, Charlotte and Indiana State. "Ealey is very good, quick, athletic and strong," McCormick said. "She is an explosive guard, has a good understanding and feel for the game, and can score. She can hit from the mid-range and make the three-pointer." Thomasville (N.C.) New Hope Christian junior point guard Kiana "Lucky" Rudd was the first of the five verbal commitments to pick NC State July 15. The 5-9 floor general is the daughter of former Wake Forest guard and NBA player Delaney Rudd, who also coaches her at New Hope Christian. Rudd and NC State freshman center Akela Maize were teammates last year for the Phoenix. "Her dad has been training her for a long time, and she'll get better," Mc - Cormick said. "She is good now and will keep on getting better. She is athletic, fundamental and knows how to play basketball." Rudd averaged 7.8 points for New Hope Christian, which went 32-1 this past season. The lone loss came in heart-breaking fashion against Upper Marlboro (Md.) Riverdale Baptist 59-58 Feb. 28 in the National Association of Christian Athletes Championship game in Dayton, Tenn. New Hope Christian had seemingly put themselves in position to either run out the clock or get fouled, but the game clock never started and the team had to in-bounds the ball again. Current NC State freshman guard Chloe Jackson stole the ball and drained the game-winning three-pointer to finish with 19 points and 10 rebounds, while Rudd had 13 points. Raleigh Millbrook 5-9 sophomore guard Kai Crutchfield joined the fun Aug. 5 when she verbally committed to the Wolfpack. Crutchfield averaged 12.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game in helping Millbrook to a 24-4 record. "She is a big-timer in her class as a combo guard," McCormick said. "She is very athletic and an explosive leaper, and already has the strong college body as a 2017. She can also post people up or shoot it from the floor. She has a high ceiling." NC State also made national headlines with the age of one of its commit - ments. Eighth-grade shooting guard Jada Peebles of Raleigh Wakefield Middle School verbally committed Aug. 1. Peebles is the daughter of former NC State football and track star Danny Peebles, who is getting inducted into the NCSU Hall of Fame Oct. 10. McCormick hasn't watched Peebles yet, but said going after middle school players isn't all that unusual in women's basketball recruiting. "Sometimes girls level off some at a younger age, but the colleges are offering them at all ages now," McCormick said. — Jacey Zembal NC State Takes New Approach With Marketing Campaign Six months ago, Fred Demarest was hired by NC State as its associate athletics director for communications and marketing. He arrived in Raleigh after serving extensive stints at SEC powers LSU (1995-2002) and Florida (2002-14). Demarest readily admits he still has a lot to learn about the Wolfpack, but he quickly noticed one trait of NC State followers, and it was brought home to him once again on Aug. 10, a Sunday afternoon when the football team held its annual Meet the Pack Day. "I am absolutely blown away by the passion and loyalty of this fan base," Demarest said. "Over at the Meet the Pack Day, they are passionate and loyal, and they want to celebrate it." Thus, when Demarest and his team began crafting a new marketing campaign to replace "Our State," the spirit of Pack Nation was front and center. The goal became to find a way to, as Demar- est described it, "provide a platform that gives them the opportunity to express what's unique and special about this place." The design and execution of the campaign would be different from past slogans termed to fit a poster and billboards. The hope was to find an interactive campaign with a strong social media component in a nod to the realities of 2014. The result: #STATEment. "We were looking for something that had a little more personal experience, tying into the pas- sion and loyalty of this place. We wanted a deeper, emotional connection, and to get away from something that was so tied into wins and losses," Demarest noted, adding that they also thought the new campaign worked compatibly with the campus' overall goal of raising the profile and perception of NC State into a national brand. "This place has a unique and special history, and we wanted to create something that would help celebrate meaningful traditions and mix it with modern day relevance." "#STATEment" — the pound sign is a reference to a Twitter hashtag and does not have a partic- ular meaning. It's unique to every member of the Wolfpack. To help drive that point home, NC State successfully enlisted the help of legendary former athletes that are particularly active on Twitter. Former guard Dereck Whittenburg's statement was simply "Survive and Advance" on a picture of Lorenzo Charles' national title game-winning dunk against Houston in 1983. "It was definitely a pass!" Whittenburg added. Former linebacker Nate Irving, now playing with the Denver Broncos, said "overcame serious odds with the love and support of my PACK… survival was my #STATEment" while alluding through pictures to his gruesome car crash in the summer of 2009 that left him with several serious injuries. The list goes on to include, among others, former ACC men's basketball Players of the Year Julius Hodge and T.J. Warren, recent women's basketball standout and 2014 WNBA first-round draft pick Markeisha Gatling, former ace baseball pitcher Carlos Rodon, former All-American receiver Torry Holt, the ACC's all-time leading rusher in Ted Brown and former national champion and Olympic medalist swimmer Cullen Jones. Demarest noted that they felt that the execution of the campaign would be critical in terms of fans buying into the message, thus they were "absolutely thrilled with how many of those guys were willing to help us." "We wanted them to have a voice and an investment," Demarest added. "Their involvement in it and their participation in it means the world." The campaign is expected to continue to mix storytelling with both imagery and words. Demar - est was pleased to see fans using it on social media after Meet the Pack Day, but he also knows it's a process that is open to evolving. "It was really encouraging and a very positive start," Demarest said. "It all came together. One of the goals of this office is to integrate marketing and communications. "This was a really critical project that everybody up and down that hallway had a great piece in. I was really pleased and happy with the work we got." "This place has a unique and special history, and we wanted to create something that would help celebrate meaningful traditions and mix it with modern day relevance." ■ Associate Athletics Director For Communications And Marketing Fred Demarest