The NC State men’s basketball team has had an incredibly eventful offseason thus far. Everything from transfers to unexpected commitments has occurred, and the anticipation for the upcoming season could not be greater.
When point guard Cat Barber declared for the draft, nobody expected much more news to be breaking from the Wolfpack.
Former Wolfpack forwards Caleb and Cody Martin announced that they were transferring, allegedly coming on the heels of a season in which both received less playing time, due to freshman Maverick Rowan’s emergence.
Around the same time, junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu and senior forward BeeJay Anya made Wolfpack fans scratch their heads when the duo declared for the NBA Draft.
Assistant coach Bobby Lutz appeared to be on his way out of the program until a new position, “special assistant to deputy athletic director for external operations” was created for him. Head coach Mark Gottfried filled the open spot with former University of Tennessee-Martin head coach Heath Schroyer.
The upcoming season appeared to be a lost cause with the possible exodus of five key players. Gottfried had apparently lost control of his team, and the “only at NC State” chatter had begun.
Abu declaring for the draft was surprising, but not nearly as surprising as Anya’s declaration. Anya averaged 4.7 points per game and 5.3 rebounds per game last season. What other player in the past 15 years has ever had such low production and been drafted?
Neither player seemed a likely fit for any NBA team due to the way the Wolfpack finished during the 2015-16 season. Instead of attempting a try at the next level, many scouts saw both players as likely candidates to come back to a reloaded Wolfpack team.
Outside of five-star point guard Dennis Smith Jr., at the time, the recruiting effort was pretty poor, and Gottfried had no players to replace either of the big men. Therefore, what Abu and Anya brought to the team was vital to its success for the next year.
Abu is a frontcourt presence for his team. He improved greatly from his freshman year to his sophomore year, averaging 12.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He worked on his post moves and got better in back-to-the-basket situations, looking to raise his draft stock in his remaining two years of eligibility.
Anya didn’t see improvement in any aspects of his game this past season. The forward is better off as a backup big man who comes in off the bench to provide energy and a few key blocks when necessary.
So, with all the negative news breaking the way it did, nobody knew how or when the program was going to start looking up again.
The positive news began first when five-star Turkish center Omer Yurtseven committed to the Wolfpack. The big man was fresh off a weekend in which he scored 91 points in a U-18 game.
Yurtseven will first have to be cleared by the NCAA, which looks like an uphill battle as they are tough on young athletes, especially those who may have accepted money from a European team. The NCAA never cleared former Kentucky commit Enes Kanter who played professionally in Turkey.
Kanter was in the same boat as Yurtseven, being an international player signing with a big name school, but requiring an investigation by the NCAA to make sure none of its rules were violated. Kanter was never cleared due to the fact he received money while playing overseas.
As long as Yurtseven is cleared like fans expect, he could potentially be one of the best big men NC State has ever seen play.
In just a few days’ time, Abu and Anya announced their intention to return to the Wolfpack, and it appeared the decline of the program was over. Three-star forward Darius Hicks committed to the Wolfpack, giving the team another option for a big man.
The team now seems poised for another run. Much anticipation has been built up for Smith, as he is the highest-ranked recruit NC State has ever signed.
Terry Henderson suffered an injury early in the season last year but will be back and expected to start. Torin Dorn, the Conference USA Freshman of the Year at UNC-Charlotte, spent a year on the bench due to the NCAA transfer rules. Much anticipation has come for the backcourt behind the talent of the three players.
Whatever the outcome ends up being for the next season, the Wolfpack has the pieces to finish in the top half of the ACC, possibly making some headlines along the way.
Junior forward BeeJay Anya, sweeps around a South Alabama defender. Anya had eight points and five blocks in the game. The Wolfpack took down South Alabama, 88-70, in PNC Arena on Nov. 15.
