The Wolfpacker

November 2017

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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128 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY JACEY ZEMBAL N C State will have some ready- made chemistry in the post next year if all goes well this season at Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy. The Wolfpack is expected to sign North- wood Temple senior post players Immanuel Bates and Ian Steere during the early sign- ing period Nov. 8-15. Landing teammates isn't completely un- usual for the school. The most famous team- mate duo was the backcourt of Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg from Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic, who helped lead NC State to the 1983 national title. The Pack signed post players Kenny Inge and Damon Thornton out of Norfolk (Va.) Atlantic Shore Christian in 1996. More re- cently, twin brothers Caleb Martin and Cody Martin played together in high school and for traveling team ball, finishing up at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy in 2014. Current fifth-year senior center Lennard Freeman was teammates with former for- ward BeeJay Anya on the Team Takeover traveling squad. Bates is optimistic about what he and Steere can do together, first at Northwood Temple and then at NC State. "He'll be out on the perimeter and I'll be down low. We'll just crash the boards and we will get the rebounds," Bates said. "It's great playing with him." Steere understands that playing time will be available for all the post players NC State lands in the class of 2018. The Wolfpack will lose Freeman and senior power forward Abdul-Malik Abu, and expect sophomore center Omer Yurtseven to start his profes- sional career after this season. "There is lots of playing time," Steere said. "Not everybody gets the chance in probably the best conference in college basketball and start right away. There is a lot of pressure to that, but it is motiving me to work as hard as I can and not squander the opportunity." Steere attended High Point (N.C.) Wes- leyan Christian last year, so playing with Bates will be a new experience. The two bring different abilities to the table. The 6-8, 250-pound Steere has a physi- cal style and wants to dunk everything. Rivals.com ranks him No. 104 overall in the country in the class of 2018. Bates is more of a shot-blocker and rim- runner at 6-9 and around 215 pounds. He'll need to get stronger, but he continues to improve each year. Rivals.com ranks him No. 110 nationally. Northwood Temple coach Corey Baker knows he'll be playing a key role in display- ing the blueprint on how his "Twin Towers" can perform together in college. Northwood Temple started its season Nov. 3. "NC State is getting a workhorse and a very versatile player with Steere," Baker said. "Ian can bang the boards, but he can also make the 15-footer. That will put a lot of pressure on a defense." Baker has dipped into the archives to watch the mid-1980s Houston Rockets, which featured Hakeem Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson. The 7-0 Olajuwon and 7-4 Sampson led the Rockets to a runner- up finish in the 1986 NBA Finals. "I've been watching a lot of video on that Houston team," Baker said. "I wanted to see how they did things. I think our style of play this year will be conducive in how Houston played their games. We are not going to not just post them down on the post because both can go on the outside." Bates attended Fayetteville Jack Britt his first two years, but then transferred to play for Baker last year at Northwood Tem- ple. The offense centered around shooting guard Michael Huiett, who is a freshman at Old Dominion. Baker knows the improve- ments Bates has made to become a scoring threat in the paint. "I saw Bates when he first played at Jack Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy senior post players, from left to right, Ian Steere and Immanuel Bates will play together at NC State and are both four-star recruits according to Rivals.com. PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBAL BUILT-IN CHEMISTRY Prep Teammates Immanuel Bates And Ian Steere Elect To Play Together At NC State ■ BASKETBALL RECRUITING

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