The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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60 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY JACEY ZEMBAL AND MATT CARTER R edshirt junior forward Torin Dorn has put his name in the NBA Draft, but is not hiring an agent. Dorn averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 re- bounds per game while shooting 53.1 per- cent from the field last season for NC State. He was second on the team in both scoring and rebounding. By not hiring an agent, Dorn leaves open the possibility of rejoining the Wolf- pack if he is not pleased with the feedback from NBA teams on his stock. The NBA Combine will be May 16-20 in Chicago, and players have until May 30 to meet the NCAA deadline to withdraw from the draft and return to college. Dorn joined sophomore center Omer Yurtseven in entering the draft, though Yurtseven has elected to transfer to George- town, where he'll have two years of eligi- bility remaining. After the 2015-16 season, both Abdul- Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya put their names in and then returned to NC State. NC State also had Yurtseven, Ted Kapita and Maverick Rowan enter the draft last year, and the latter two elected not to return to college but didn't get drafted. NC State's 2018-19 ACC Opponents Announced The ACC has announced the opponents NC State will face next season, but dates and time will be determined at a later time. NC State will have a home and away game with permanent partners North Car- olina and Wake Forest, plus Boston Col- lege and Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack will host Clemson, Geor- gia Tech, Syracuse, Virginia and Virginia Tech. For the road only opponents, NCSU plays at Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami and Notre Dame. ESPN ranked seven ACC teams in its way-too-early top 25, highlighted by Duke at No. 3. Virginia (No. 7), North Carolina (8), Virginia Tech (14), Syracuse (16), Clemson (19) and Florida State (20) were also rated. Five of those teams will play at PNC Arena, and NCSU will have to play three of them on the road. UNC is the only team it will play twice. A.W. Hamilton Lands Head Coaching Job NC State assistant coach A.W. Hamilton proved to be a one-and-done of a different kind, using the Wolfpack as a springboard to become the head coach at Eastern Ken- tucky. Hamilton, who is from Georgetown, Ky., takes over a Colonels program that went 11-20 overall and 5-13 in the Ohio Valley Conference in 2017-18. "I'm excited for A.W. to take over the Eastern Kentucky program," NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said. "I've known A.W. for over 15 years as a player and assistant coach, and he is ready for this opportunity. "His ability to teach, recruit and game plan is exceptional, and he is going to do a great job for EKU." NC State hadn't hired Hamilton's re- placement as of May 1, but director of op- erations Thomas Carr has represented the Wolfpack on the road during the two April evaluation recruiting weekends. Hamilton made a quick impact in recruit- ing for the Wolfpack, landing two of his former players at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy — rising sophomores Braxton Beverly and Derek Funderburk — and he also was instrumental in landing small forward Saddiq Bey of Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends. Hamilton also brought a player he is fa- miliar with to Eastern Kentucky — former NC State sophomore power forward Darius Hicks. The 6-7, 230-pound Hicks blew out his ACL during practice and was ruled out for the season Nov. 29. He will have two years of eligibility remaining, barring a NCAA waiver. Hicks played in four games before he got injured this past season, logging 17 points and 12 rebounds in 34 minutes of ac- tion. The Quitman, Miss., native had eight points and 24 rebounds in 132 minutes during his freshman year. Kevin Keatts Injures Knee NC State men's basketball suffered its first injury of the offseason, when head coach Kevin Keatts tore the patellar tendon in his right knee April 11 while playing pickup basketball. Keatts, who missed the first recruiting evaluation period April 20-22, had surgery the next day and is facing a four- to six- month rehab. The timetable should have him fully recovered in October, if not earlier. Keatts helped NC State go 21-12 overall and reach the NCAA Tournament in his first year in Raleigh. The 45-year-old guided the Wolfpack to a tie for third place in the ACC and the No. 5 seed in the league tourna- ment. The league media projected NC State to finish 12th prior to the season. ■ WOLFPACK BASKETBALL Torin Dorn Enters His Name Into The NBA Draft Dorn averaged 13.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game while shooting 53.1 percent from the field during his redshirt junior season. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN