Along with his current teammate Shakeel Moore, small forward Josh Hall will be joining a loaded 2020 men’s basketball recruiting class that currently ranks eighth in the nation. Hall and Moore are both uber-talented athletes from Moravian Prep High School, and Hall, in particular, is a four-star small forward that already stands at 6-foot-9, taller than many players at his position.
Because of his height, head coach Kevin Keatts will have an opportunity to play Hall at either forward spot, which adds to the versatility that the Wolfpack will get to employ next season. If all other players return, and they should have extra motivation to because of this class, Keatts will have some decisions to make at the forward spots.
With the recent play of redshirt junior forward D.J. Funderburk, and his ability to play next to redshirt freshman forward Manny Bates, it is entirely possible Keatts will play with some big lineups that include Hall next to Funderburk and Bates. Most lineups will include Hall playing next to fellow four-star guard Cam Hayes, who has a good shot at starting and is an excellent playmaker.
“[The coaching staff] let their players play free,” Hall said after the game against The Burlington School on Dec. 17, 2019. “[Keatts] can see me doing a lot of things off of the pick-and-roll.”
Hall already has a good amount of experience with strong playmaking guards, having spent the season playing next to Moore at Moravian Prep. Moore is a great defensive guard that hounds for steals at the halfcourt, and was a big factor for Hall coming to the Pack, who announced his decision slightly later than Moore.
“It’s going to be great,” said Moravian Prep head coach Antonio Lowe after the game against The Burlington School on Dec. 17, 2019. “[Hall and Moore] both come from a culture that’s great, where winning and playing hard is stressed, and I think the fact that they are both coming from that and going on to the same college, that’s a big plus for the young guys that are coming in, to have them playing possibly 30 to 40 games together in high school, is a big advantage. Chemistry-wise when they both step on the court, Shakeel is still learning how to play with Josh and Josh is still learning how to play with Shakeel, but by the time they get to NC State, they both will know each other’s spots.”
Lowe has done well with the talent that has come through his school, and juggling young emerging talents can be difficult, with both Moore and Hall on board, and three-star center Javarzia Belton, who has interest from schools such as Hofstra, Drexel and others, according to 247sports.
“At the beginning of the year, the first week on campus, I intentionally put Shakeel and Josh on the same team,” Lowe said. “They took turns scoring, but their team lost five straight games. I asked them, ‘Do you want to score all of the points or do you want to be a winner?’ and I think that is when the light went off, was the fact that you can still score but can we put it all together?”
In a rivalry game against The Burlington School, Hall showcased his long athleticism, and his ability to score at all levels of the game. Hall has a similar frame to the 6-foot-10 Funderburk, but plays as more of an outside scorer than Funderburk, with a similar game to NBA Star Kevin Durant. However, Lowe continues to challenge Hall each game, and is always looking for improvement from the forward, despite Hall having scored 51 in a game this season, and Moravian Prep being the best high school team in North Carolina.
“Josh’s improvement is his ability to get downhill now.” Lowe said. “[Hall]’s always been known as a shooter, but now he’s getting more to the rack and finishing around the rim. I think he had 19 [points] and 11 [rebounds] tonight [after the win over The Burlington School]. 11 rebounds, that is what we stress for him, that he should be around a double-double every game.”
With both Hall and Moore having played exceedingly well this season for Moravian Prep, there is a shared good feeling between the two players about their abilities to help an NC State team that has struggled to beat lesser opponents and make noise in the postseason for some time.
“A little bit of everything, a winning mentality,” Hall said on what he and Moore could bring to NC State. “It’s very important [to have Moore there with me]. We are building our chemistry right now, so when we get to State, it’s going to be like muscle memory.”
With Hall boasting a .9855 rating on 247sports, he is ranked as the second-best small forward prospect in North Carolina, only behind Isaiah Todd, the eighth-best small forward prospect in the nation and the 39th-best overall prospect in the nation in composite rankings.
Aside from 2019, the last five players to be ranked 39th in composite 247 rankings were NBA players Daniel Gafford of the Bulls, Malik Beasley of the Nuggets, Trevon Bluiett, a free agent who spent 2018-19 with the New Orleans Pelicans, and then Kira Lewis Jr. and Javin DeLaurier, who both could be picked in the 2020 NBA Draft.
Hall has history on his side, and all of the right tools in place to succeed for the Wolfpack, with Hayes joining him in 2020, which helped his decision to come to NC State.
“It’s in my backyard,” Hall said. “I felt a connection with the whole coaching staff, not just coach Keatts. And then the players, they got Cam Hayes before they got me, he welcomed me in, and that’s going to be my future point guard, so he’s gonna be the one that’s passing me the ball, so why not keep it in North Carolina?”
Despite yet another shaky start to ACC play for the Wolfpack, NC State fans have something special to look forward to in next year’s recruiting class, thanks in part to the sheer star power that Hall, and the other new prospects, bring to the table.
