Of the many players the NC State men’s basketball team has acquired during the off-season, Dennis Smith Jr. and Omer Yurtseven are expected to have the biggest impact for the team next season.
In November, point guard Dennis Smith Jr. announced on ESPN that, along with being committed to NC State, he was going to graduate high school early so he could enroll at State in January. Along with the rehab benefits this provided in his torn ACL recovery, it also allowed Smith to bond and connect with his coaches and teammates. Smith spent much of the season sitting with the bench during games and would occasionally hoist up a shot or two during the pre-game warmups.
With former State star Cat Barber leaving after his junior year to enter the 2016 NBA Draft, Smith is poised to fill the role of starting point guard. Smith was the Gatorade Player of the Year in North Carolina in the 2014-15 season, averaging 21.8 points per game, leading Trinity Christian School to the North Carolina Class 1A state semifinals.
Smith is NC State’s highest-ranked recruit since 2000 according to “247 Sports” and many consider him to be the Wolfpack’s second-best recruit of all time behind the legendary David Thompson. Smith is also widely regarded as a “one-and-done” and is projected to go No. 3 overall in the latest version of NBADraft.net’s 2017 NBA Mock Draft.
Smith’s scoring, playmaking and leadership abilities will be crucial for the Wolfpack next season as it looks to rebound from a losing season which ended without an NCAA Tournament bid for the first time in the Mark Gottfried era. With a floor general like Smith leading the way, the Wolfpack should be a top-five ACC team next season.
Last season the Wolfpack lacked a strong offensive presence down low. The addition of 7-foot Yurtseven should help fill that void. The Turkish five-star center, who is regarded by some as the top player at his position in the recruiting class, announced just a few weeks ago his commitment to NC State and shortly thereafter signed his letter of intent.
Although it is hard to compare Yurtseven’s talents to other players in the 2016 class, the big man has proved himself on many occasions — most notably, scoring 91 points and grabbing 28 boards in a Turkish U-18 basketball game earlier this month.
Yurtseven, who recently told ESPN he compares his game to NBA all-star Tim Duncan, also has played against NBA talent. In this past NBA preseason, Yurtseven’s Euroleague team, Fenerbahce Ulker, competed against the Brooklyn Nets where Yurtseven had eight points and seven rebounds in just 15 minutes of playing time.
Yurtseven’s scoring ability combined with his length will make him a great all-around player, as he will have a major impact on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. With a facilitator like Smith, Yurtseven will receive the ball in the paint early and often. The offense could potentially be run through him because his presence down low will draw defenders, opening up the Pack’s shooters like sophomore Maverick Rowan and redshirt senior Terry Henderson.
While Smith is a lock for next season, as he’s been enrolled in school for a semester, Yurtseven’s status isn’t exactly set in stone. Yurtseven’s coach at Fenerbahce Ulker claims that the big man has been taking money from the club for three years. However, Yurtseven disregarded those allegations, saying he has not touched any money from the team.
The most notable and recent Turkish basketball player to attempt the move from the Euroleague to the NCAA was Enes Kanter. Kanter played for the same basketball club as Yurtseven and committed to Kentucky; however, he was deemed permanently ineligible for receiving more than $33,000 from Fenerbahce. Yurtseven’s situation may be a bit different, if in fact he has not touched any money received.
Wolfpack fans are optimistic for the first time in a while, as the additions of Yurtseven and Smith could potentially push NC State into the top 25 next season, a substantial rebound from last year’s disappointing season.
