The Wolfpacker war room: NC State football, basketball and recruiting

It may be on a new home on the On3 network, but the the trademark War Room is still on The Wolfpacker! And as always, it’s packed with premium information well worth the cost of admission: a year’s subscription for just $1.

What’s the latest going on in NC State football and basketball recruiting? We have some of the scoop behind the scenes.

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We begin the War Room with a look at the recent transfer announcements from the NC State basketball team.

As we noted last week, the choice of sophomore forward Jaylon Gibson to enter the transfer portal was unsurprising. NC State head coach Kevin Keatts has made his preference to add some depth in the post a clear priority, which likely meant that Gibson was going to face a potential challenge to match his playing time in 2021-22.

Equally unsurprising is that sophomore guard Cam Hayes has also entered the transfer portal, but Hayes’ case is different from Gibson’s.

Keatts put a lot of eggs in the basket with Hayes as his point guard of the future. Keatts’ staff spent a lot of time into the recruitment of Hayes, a multi-year courtship of a player that many expected to be a premier in-state point guard. Even as scouts’ opinions about Hayes became decidedly more mixed as he progressed as Greensboro (N.C.) Day School, he was a high-profile pickup.

Keatts, contrary to perhaps some conventional wisdom, believes in building a program at NC State, complementing the occasional one-and-done with veteran players who have been with the team for multiple years. That was why he was excited about his 2020 recruiting class when it signed, headlined by On3 Consensus four-starJosh Hall.

Hall was supposed to be the one-and-done that helped veterans like Devon Daniels, Jericole Hellems and Manny Bates in 2020-21, while Hayes was the point guard of the future who would lead the next wave of program players.

Hayes had his ups and downs going through the ACC for the first time, but he ended the season strong enough for Keatts to have hopes that the coach’s vision of Hayes as the point guard of the future would be true.

For whatever reason, Hayes slumped this season. He started the year slow, appeared to perhaps turn a corner in losses to Purdue and Richmond on neutral courts, and then fell off again and eventually lost a starting job.

One theory is perhaps the pressure got to Hayes a little. Once the name, image and likeness (NIL) became a reality, Hayes became the face of NC State basketball when it came to promos and endorsements. There were even some around Hayes who thought he would propel himself into a pro prospect after this season.

Multiple sources have painted a picture where Keatts stuck with Hayes this season longer than some would preferred rather than perhaps giving an extended look to freshman Breon Pass because Keatts had a soft spot for the player he spent years recruiting with the idea of being the ultimate replacement for Markell Johnson.

Similarly, had Hayes approached Keatts about returning to NC State for another year, it could have well been a development that Keatts would have welcomed. The decision for Hayes to transfer, however, was one that was rumored to have been made a while ago by the player. Loud whispers of his future in Raleigh were heard during February.

Both sides recognize this is a case of Hayes probably needing a fresh start somewhere else. His season-long shooting slump affected his happiness on the court. Hayes is also hopeful that he can find a Power Five-caliber landing spot. Opinions are mixed that will happen, but we tend to suspect he will.

While Keatts would have entertained having Hayes back, adding a point guard to the team would have been a priority regardless. One of the mistakes from last season was not seeking another point guard in the portal, especially when Shakeel Moore made his decision to transfer to Mississippi State. It goes back to putting all the eggs in the basket with Hayes as the primary point guard.

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To that end, one name to watch in the transfer portal at point guard is Drexel’s Camren Wynter, who has chosen to use his super senior year option after a decorated career. He was the Colonial Athletic Association Rookie of the Year in 2019 and has been a three-time all-conference selection since then, including first-team last two years. Wynter was also Most Outstanding Player of the 2021 CAA Championships.

This past year, Wynter averaged 15.8 points and 4.6 assists per game, although the typically solid three-pointer slumped to 27.8 percent from beyond the arc (35 of 126).

Against Syracuse this year, Wynter had 11 points and a pair of assists but also had five turnovers. A season ago in a road game at Pittsburgh, Wynter had 24 points and four assists with just one turnover.

NC State assistant director of operations Chris Zupko was the coordinator of basketball operations at Drexel and thus is an in for NC State with Wynter, who is likely to be in high demand in the portal. We can confirm that initial conversations have taken place between the Wolfpack staff and Wynter.

Wynter told On3 that he has also heard from Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona State, Clemson, Penn State, Georgia Tech, UNLV, West Virginia, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Creighton, Providence, St. John’s, Maryland, Utah and Butler.

Ideally, NC State would like Wynter’s recruitment to move quickly.

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From the football transfer portal, the next couple of weeks will likely wind it down for coveted Vanderbilt offensive tackle Tyler Steen. NC State has already hosted Steen for an official visit. He was at LSU last weekend.

Next week, he is expected to take an unofficial visit to Kentucky and then an official trip to Alabama.

Opinions of where NC State sits with Steen are mixed. Some believed the Pack is in the top tier with Alabama and LSU, but others think it is more likely that Steen will stick with the SEC with Virginia, where his younger brother Blake signed in February, a wild card.

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Here is our first mock class for the defensive side of the football. For the purposes of planning this class, we went with a target number of 23. There is a realistic possibility that NC State could end up taking a full class of 25, but in general we have heard the range will be between 20-25.

For defense we allocated three defensive linemen, one linebacker and three defensive backs. We would also not rule out NC State going with a punter depending on how Ian Williams progresses this year.

All total, combined with our projection of 12 players in our offensive/kicker mock class last week, room for 3-4 transfers depending on the punter situation.

Defensive line: On3 Consensus three-star Isaiah Shirley from Boone (N.C.) Watauga High — Of the defensive linemen on the board, Shirley is the one we feel best about for NC State, but Wake Forest and perhaps Virginia Tech could prove to be stiff challengers.

Defensive line: On3 Consensus four-star Monteque Rhames from Sumter (S.C.) High — Coming out of the winter, it seemed like this might be a NC State-South Carolina battle, and the Gamecocks had an offseason defensive line coaching change. That said, this might be a on reach on our part.

Defensive line: On3 Consensus four-star Isaiah Neal from Washington (D.C.) St. Frances Academy — Neal is another defensive lineman that might be a reach, but we have a St. Frances package deal fueled by Pack receivers coach Joker Phillips in this class (see more later). Pittsburgh is another top contender for Neal.

Linebacker: Rohan Davy, Silver Spring (Md.) St. John’s — Thus far, the linebacker recruiting for NC State has been fairly quiet, but Davy, although perhaps a tweener at 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, is someone that the Wolfpack really likes. Cincinnati, Louisville, Maryland and Pittsburgh are some of his other notable offers.

Defensive back: On3 Consensus four-star Chris Peal, Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day —A source recently shared information with us that NC State has emerged as the in-state school of choice for Peal. The question is can the Pack hold off national powers like Florida State, Michigan, Oklahoma and Penn State.

Defensive back: Quentin Ajiero, Kennesaw (Ga.) North Cobb High —We had Ajiero’s teammateRobert Grigsby, an offensive lineman, in our mock class for the offense last week and figured we would make it a North Cobb package deal.

Defensive back: On3 Consensus three-star Christian Garrett, Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy —Ajiero is a corner while Peak is a versatile defensive back. Garrett gives you a safety in the class. He has visited NC State on multiple occasions and completes the St. Frances package deal we mentioned earlier.

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Note one name that was not included in the mock class for defense is On3 Consensus four-star Rico Walker from Hickory (N.C.) High. Walker had also dropped out of 23 to watch in 2023 list this past weekend.

Speaking with multiple sources over the past couple of weeks, the picture was painted that NC State may have backed off Walker, perhaps out of concerns about how good a fit he would be on defense.