Recruiting update for 4-star Silas Demary, Jr.
Silas Demary, Jr. is On3s No. 8 point guard in the 2023 class. The 6-foot-5 four-star is the industry-standard 2023 On3 Consensus No. 70 overall player.
This recruitment has been very tight-lipped and kept close to the vest. Partially because the circle is tight, but also because Demary appears to genuinely not know where he wants to go.
While things took a while to get going for the big guard, Demary is closing in on 20 offers. Now at nationally ranked Lincolnton (NC) Combine Academy, Demary has taken five total official visits; Tennessee, VCU, and St. John’s early and then NC State and Southern California late.
This one is not done, but things are winding down, and it appears a couple of front-runners are emerging. Let’s go through the intel and see where things stand.
1. NC State
Demary is from Raleigh, about ten miles away from NC State’s campus. Even though they came in late and did not offer the hometown four-star until late July, they have let Demary know he is their guy.
By all accounts, the official visit went well, and there is a growing comfort level from Demary’s end with the program. Keatts is also known for giving his guards a lot of freedom with the ball.
2. Southern California
Demary was born in Los Angeles area and lived there for his first couple of years. There is a familiarity with the area from his family. The visit to campus opened Demary’s eyes to the two point guard system and allowed the four-star to see the Dunk City style Enfield wanted to re-instate.
3. VCU
VCU has been in there the longest of these schools. They have sold the fact they have had a guard or wing drafted in the last two NBA Drafts, and their 102 wins and three top two league finishes over the last five years. Demary’s dad also played college football at Virginia State, 20 minutes away from VCU’s campus.
Final thoughts
This one has been a hard one to get a read on. In speaking with Silas Demary, he says winning recently, player development, and the capability of competing for early playing time will mean a lot to him in his decision.
Southern California has produced six draft picks and been to three NCAA tournaments over the last five seasons. Andy Enfield is set to go back to the two point guard, ‘dunk city‘ style of play. Early playing time is there, as Boogie Ellis will be a senior.
Southern California is thought to be in the lead for five-star Isaiah Collier, and reports say the two have spoken about teaming up together.
Demary also states comfort with the campus and city and relationship with the coaches will play a huge factor. This is where NC State comes in. Even though they were late offering, Kevin Keatts has made it be known Demary is now a priority. NC State has a vibrant campus in a capital city and an area Demary is familiar with.
Kevin Keatts has yet to produce an NBA Draft pick in his eight years as a head coach. However, the likes of Montrezl Harrell, Terry Rozier, Russ Smith, etc., were all drafted from his time at Louisville. Currently, North Carolina native Terquavion Smith is projected to be a first-round pick in next year’s draft.
A kicker here with the intel is NC State assistant coach Joel Justus. He grew up in North Carolina, played collegiately in North Carolina, and coached both high school and college in North Carolina. Justus has a close tie with Silas Demary’s Team Curry travel program.
VCU has the draft picks and the wins. They are located in a capital city with a vibrant campus. The style of play also fits with Demary. They are not in a high major conference and do not have a football program. Mike Rhoades has been in there the longest and made sure Demary knows he is a priority.
As you can see, each of these schools has some pieces Demary is looking for. At the time of pressing publish on this writing, it appears these three schools have moved out in front of the rest. As you can see, there is little differentiation between each of the schools and all three are in a position to make a move. Wake Forest is working hard to make a move here too.
Demary told On3 he hopes to have a decision made before the high school season starts.
On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine
I have not placed my expert pick yet for On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM) for Silas Demary, Jr.; it is just too close to call. However, based on the proprietary algorithm, RPM gives NC State an 88.4 percent chance of landing the four-star point guard at this time.
The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college. Starting from the ground up, On3 built an entirely new product that utilizes data, human expertise, and machine learning.