The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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136 ■ THE WOLFPACKER "I love the facilities," Lewis said. "They have over 19,000 [seats at PNC Arena]. I loved the campus and the environment. I didn't know the campus was that big." Lewis played in the first of four legs on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), averaging 4.0 points per game in Hampton, Va. A nagging groin injury, which caused him to miss parts of his junior year, prevented him from playing on the rest of the spring circuit. He estimated he missed around 10 games at Westlake High during his junior cam- paign, but the time off gave him a different perspective on what he wants to accomplish on the court. "I want to become more of a playmaker, and I saw how point guards have to make plays," Lewis said. "I want to speed up my game. I'm expected to play in July [with Team Loaded NC]. I have to make sure I'm healthy before I go out there." Lewis does recall playing against NCSU sophomore point guard Markell Johnson and incoming freshman Lavar Batts during a 2016 Memorial Day EYBL event in his hometown of Atlanta. He hopes to offer some different traits from his future team- mates. "I'm a scoring guard, and I like to get to the basket," Lewis said. "I like to make plays for my teammates. When I have the shot, I'll take the open shot." Allerik Freeman Is Expected To Provide An Immediate Impact Freeman has heard some good recruiting pitches over the years, and he knew Keatts was being sincere in his approach. The Baylor graduate transfer will be spending his last year of college at NC State, playing in his home state once again. The Charlotte product lends an experienced hand to what could be a quality backcourt for the Wolfpack if all the pieces fall into place. Freeman officially visited NC State April 8-9 with his aunt, mother and grandmother. The 6-3, 200-pounder followed up by of- ficially visiting Pittsburgh. After checking out the two ACC programs, he knew where he wanted to spend his final year of college. "It was a hard decision," Freeman said. "At the end of day, I just felt in my gut that NC State was the place for me. I'm just excited and looking forward to playing for Coach Keatts and NC State. I want to play in that system, playing up and down." Freeman, who helped Baylor reach the Sweet 16 this past season, averaged 9.4 points and 1.2 assists per game. He shot a solid 38.9 percent on three-pointers and 42.8 percent from the field overall. He had a season-high 21 points off the bench against New Mexico State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. "It's going to be fun, and I'm excited to get there and meet everybody," he said. "You have to take it one day at a time and go from there." Freeman was well known early in his prep career. He came off the bench his fresh- man year and helped Charlotte United Faith Christian Academy win the North Carolina Independent Schools 1A state title. He then transferred to Charlotte Olympic for two years before finishing up at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev. Rivals.com ranked Free- man as the No. 81 overall prospect in the class of 2013. He initially signed with UCLA, but fol- lowing a coaching change decided to switch to Baylor. Freeman injured his wrist and redshirted his freshman season, allowing him to be in a position to be a graduate transfer. He is expecting to come in and play a key role from day one. NC State's style of play and the offense were strong appeals to him. "That is what all of this came down to," Freeman said. "I had choices of Bay Area schools that I could have chosen, and I would have been 30 to 45 minutes away from my daughter. "I had NC State near where I grew up. I had other schools in between." Freeman brings a strong frame, big-game experience and a trusty jumper, and hopes to showcase more of his point guard skills. "What it really came down to was where I had a chance to get back to being who I truly am," Freeman said. "And No. 2, somewhere that can help me go to the next level." Sam Hunt Brings Leadership To Wolfpack Hunt will always remember May 13, 2017. He started his morning walking across the stage to receive his degree in economics at North Carolina A&T, and then began the next chapter in his life by transferring to NC State. The celebration of both decisions led to one heck of a barbecue for the Hunt family, featuring ribs, fried and baked chicken, ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, baked potatoes and salad. "It feels great," Hunt said. "My mom was really excited about me being able to gradu- ate. She wanted to go all out. "I'm pretty sure that first game at PNC Arena is going to be a thrill. I can't speak too much because it isn't here yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be excited about everything. I'm happy to be a part of Wolfpack Nation." Hunt, a Greensboro, N.C., native, unoffi- cially visited NC State May 10 and believes in the vision of Keatts and his staff. The chance to play in the ACC was a strong selling point, and he knew Siddle from the coach's time at Gardner-Webb. "I've always wanted to play in the ACC at the highest level," Hunt said. "I love the coaching staff with Coach Keatts and Coach Siddle. I've had a relationship with Coach Siddle all those years from when I came out of high school. "The biggest thing was the coaching staff and playing in the best conference in the world. I'll be competing against good guys every night." Hunt is already pondering playing against the best the ACC can offer. "I think it's going to be a great experi- ence," Hunt said. "All the teams in the ACC, even the bottom teams, they are all good. I'm excited play Duke and Carolina, but also Boston College and Louisville and the other schools in the conference." The lefty shooter started his career at Jacksonville and then transferred back home to North Carolina A&T following a coach- ing change at his first school. Two more coaching changes and Hunt understands completely what the Wolfpack players are currently going through. Keatts will be his fourth coach in five years of college bas- ketball. Hunt averaged 12.7 points and 1.8 assists per contest, plus shot 38.3 percent form the field and 35.4 percent from three-point land last year for the Aggies. He had 20 points in his second to last game for North Carolina A&T to help engineer a 68-63 upset against NCAA Tournament-bound North Carolina Central on March 2. As a junior at Baylor, Freeman averaged 9.4 points per game and helped the Bears reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Charlotte native picked NCSU over Pittsburgh. PHOTO COURTESY BAYLOR UNIVERSITY