N.C. State outlasted Duke and North Carolina in the pursuit of top recruit Julius Randle but the Wolfpack didn't make it to the finish line.
Randle, a 6-9 forward from Dallas and the No. 3 prospect in the class of 2013, has eliminated N.C. State from his final list, according to ESPN's Dave Telep.
Kentucky, Florida, Kansas and Texas made Randle's final four, according to Telep. Randle will announce his decision on ESPNU on March 20.
N.C. State has signed three top 100 prospects, including point guard Anthony Barber, who made the McDonald's All-American team, but Randle would have been the centerpiece of the class. Randle attended N.C. State's 91-83 win over UNC on Jan. 26, one of five official visits.
With juniors C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown expected to jump to the NBA, the Wolfpack would have five scholarship players returning for the 2013-14 season. With three freshman signed — Barber and forwards BeeJay Anya and Kyle Washington — coach Mark Gottfried would still have five scholarships available.
Gottfried has said previously he expects the '13 class to be one of the bigger ones he signs but is unlikely to add more than two more players to the class.
Comments
JPG; I would love to see a column on the topic
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 08:27 — PackFanManof basketball recruiting, particularly as it relates to going after "1 and done" types---your theories on it---and the effects these players have on a basketball team and its fans.
Maybe you have written something in the past or maybe this is not the forum for such an article, but I think it would be interesting reading.
.....take care.
Rumors
Sat, 03/09/2013 - 19:19 — SurferEvery state fan I know said he was coming? Oh well.
Not many
Sun, 03/10/2013 - 08:30 — YAR8packYou must not know very many State fans.
Everyone knew Randle was a long shot. But, as in life, ya gotta ask the pretty girl to dance. She may say yes.
$5 says Randle goes to Kentucky.
Well now,
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 18:07 — PackFanManthat is not good news. All the rumors had indicated that it was coming down to State and Kansas. No doubt he would have been the key ingredient in next year's team.
However, as you have pointed out JPG, he is most likely going to be a "one and done" college player, so maybe we need to let Calapari pursue those 1 year guys and stick to recruiting players that will provide a few years of continuity.