News & Observer | newsobserver.com | 2008 NCAA Men's Bracket

ATLANTA — It’s impossible to overstate the impact South Atlanta High power forward Derrick Favors would have if he commits to N.C. State.

The top-ranked senior in the nation according to scout.com, Favors will announce his college choice at 6:30 tonight, according to the AJC. He is believed to be choosing between N.C. State, Georgia and Georgia Tech.

Favors has given few clues as to which school he would choose, so N.C. State fans should be cautioned against getting their hopes up.

But if Favors, who’s 6-foot-9, picks N.C. State, scout.com national recruiting analyst Dave Telep said he would be one of the best prospects to come to the Triangle in the last quarter century. And at N.C. State?

"You’d probably have to go back to David Thompson to find a guy of Derrick Favors’ talent level," Telep said, referring to the player many experts believe was the best in ACC history and led N.C. State to the 1974 NCAA title.

In coach Sidney Lowe’s third season, the Wolfpack would seem almost desperate for such a player. After losing 78-65 at home Tuesday to Florida State, N.C. State is 9-5 overall without a win over a team from a BCS school.

Dating back to last season, the Wolfpack has lost 11 in a row to ACC opponents. The fact that N.C. State still has a shot with Favors and other top prospects John Wall of Raleigh Word of God and DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile, Ala., has kept hopes for the future of the program high even as the present team struggles.

Telep said Favors, Wall and Cousins are making decisions independently, so Favors’ announcement shouldn’t have an impact on the others. And even if none of those players chooses N.C. State, Telep said the Wolfpack still has a strong class coming in.
During the fall signing period, N.C. State secured 6-7 Richard Howell of Marietta, Ga., 6-4 Lorenzo Brown of Roswell, Ga., and 6-5 Scott Wood of Marion, Ind.

“They have a top-20 recruiting class nationally, and they can hang their hat on a tremendous season Lorenzo Brown is having,” said Telep, who believes Brown has a shot at making McDonald’s All-American.
But at least until 6:30 p.m. today, N.C. State fans will be focused on a bigger prize.