NC State men’s basketball head coach Kevin Keatts has spent the offseason emphasizing the fact that he appreciates that the NC State men’s basketball roster can play positionless basketball with the players that the roster houses. This grouping of forwards contains no players returning from last year, with former NC State forwards such as Omer Yurtseven and Abdul-Malik Abu leaving for other schools or graduating.
Keatts will still thrive with these new forwards however, due to the fact that he has been able to fuse young talent with veteran talents from other schools.
Graduate Wyatt Walker
Walker transferred from Samford University, a small Christian university located in Alabama. Walker averaged 12.9 points per game and 9.7 rebounds per game in 2016-17, which were both top two on his team. Walker is only 6-foot-9, but started at center in the exhibition game that the Pack played against Chowan. Walker only scored two points on three shots, but his impact was felt all over the court as he registered five rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal in only 15 minutes of action.
Walker also played with Grayson Allen in high school, a now NBA level talent for the Utah Jazz, who also played for Duke. Walker is the most decorated player on this roster, and brings experience that many other players on the roster do not have, and will look to extend his veteran leadership to the other forwards on the team.
Walker will be an essential piece to this team moving forward due to his increased versatility and ability to stretch the floor for his teammates, which Coach Keatts is obviously a fan of.
Redshirt sophomore D.J. Funderburk
Funderburk is another transfer for this 2018-19 Wolfpack squad, originating from Ohio State University, where he did not play, then to Northwest Florida State College, where he averaged 11.5 points on 51 percent shooting, five rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Funderburk started all but one of 34 games that NFSC played, mainly because of his electric athletic ability.
Funderburk is the one of the most decorated dunkers on the team, and showcased this during Primetime with the Pack in October during a fundraiser dunk contest.
In the exhibition game against Chowan, Funderburk scored 20 points on perfect 7 for 7 shooting and 5 for 5 free throws to go along with three rebounds and only one turnover in just 19 minutes.
Funderburk will look to record big minutes for the Wolfpack, and maybe even start some games if necessary, due to his ability to put points up in high volume, as well as be a complete sparkplug just by being on the floor. Funderburk is one of those players that can single-handedly shift momentum during games when he wants.
Freshman Jericole Hellems
Hellems, a four-star small forward recruit out of Chaminade College Preparatory School, has been highly touted for his athletic potential and scoring ability. Not only that, but Hellems has the potential and size to guard four positions: standing at 6-foot-7, he plays with a fire that is rarely seen with recruits. Keatts is going to grind anything he can out of Hellems and attempt to develop him into a star. Versus Chowan, Hellems scored 11 points on 60/50/75 shooting splits and recorded six rebounds, an assist and three steals in only 17 minutes.
Hellems has the most versatile shot out of any forward on the roster, and tied with women’s basketball phenom junior guard Aislinn “Ace” Konig in a 3-point shootout during Primetime with the Pack. The fact that Hellems already has such a professional-looking jump shot from mid-range and beyond the arc is fascinating, and the development of said shot will be interesting, to say the least.
Out of all of the freshmen on the roster, Hellems is the most likely to see significant minutes to begin the year. Hellems recorded more minutes than his freshman peers combined, and showed his flashiness and abilities as a player during the offseason and exhibition.
Hellems likely will not have a major impact during his freshman season, but will likely see enough minutes to develop himself as a prospect that the Wolfpack can build with.
Freshman Ian Steere
Steere is another four-star recruit brought in by Keatts, this time a power forward that is not afraid to get physical. Steere scored seven points in 12 minutes, the least amount of minutes recorded by any player against Chowan. Steere only shot 38 percent from the free throw line, showing that he needs to work on his jumper some, due to free throws being strong indicators of how well a player’s jump shot will develop.
However, Steere has the ability to bully in the paint, and scooped up four rebounds and a block versus Chowan, so the offense will come later for this defensive anchor. Like Funderburk, Steere also has the ability to dunk well, and showed off these skills by leaping over his father during Primetime with the Pack. This athletic ability will be worth watching as Steere develops into his own.
Keatts will most likely use Steere as a back-up big who will see limited minutes in his freshman campaign, which will hopefully transition to development of his skills as a player.
