Four-star shooting guard Maverick Rowan (what a great first name for a shooter) announced on Twitter today that he had committed to the NC State Wolfpack.
Don’t look now, but NC State is officially relevant again. Of course I’m being facetious, but NC State fans recognize that it has been a long time since we have consistently done more than window shopping for high-end Division 1 basketball talent. Since the days of Jimmy V, the Wolfpack has had sporadic success in landing top blue chip talent. Bypassing the dim days of Les Robinson and Herb Sendek (we all know why), when Sidney Lowe came to Raleigh he significantly improved recruiting and talent levels by landing big fish such as Lorenzo Brown, C. J. Leslie and Ryan Harrow.
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Then when Mark Gottfried took the helm he accelerated and has not looked back. By Coach Gott’s second year he had in the fold T. J. Warren, Rodney Purvis and Tyler Lewis. The classes of 2013 and 2014 continued the success as they are the nucleus of a team that made it to the Sweet Sixteen. Coupled with the success of a few notable transfers (Trevor Lacey, Ralston Turner and Desmond Lee) who probably exceeded expectations, Gottfried made North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball relevant again on the recruiting trail.
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In my mind, relevant means going head to head with the Blue Devils and Tar Heels and actually winning a few. Relevant also means being mentioned as serious contenders often in the media for top tier talent. Should Mark Gottfried pull off the current recruitment tandem of five-star ballers Dennis Smith and Bam Adebayo, the entire county had better take notice and not just the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Rowan, a 6’5, 180-pound shooting guard, hails from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He had originally committed to Pitt before reconsidering. By choosing the Pack, Rowan rebuffed reported offers from Louisville, Florida, UCLA and yes North Carolina among others.