NC State Recruiting

Gottfried lands top recruit for N.C. State

Word of God shooting guard commits to Wolfpack

By J.P. Giglio

Posted: Tuesday, May. 17, 2011


RALEIGH - The first day new N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried was allowed to talk to recruits, he called Word of God's Torian Graham.

The timing of the call in early April made a big impression on Graham, one of the top recruits in the country who made a verbal commitment to the Wolfpack on Monday.

"He told me I was their top priority," Graham said. "That meant a lot to me."

Graham, a 6-foot-4 shooting guard, is rated as the 25th-best player in the class of 2012 by Scout.com and 45th by ESPN's Dave Telep. He averaged about 19 points per game as a junior.

Gottfried, who was hired on April 5 to replace Sidney Lowe, has four scholarships available for this season and one more will open up after the 2011-12 season.

The Wolfpack is also pursuing Graham's prep teammate T.J. Warren, a forward, and Graham's close friend, guard Rodney Purvis of Raleigh's Upper Room Academy.

"I'm going to get [Purvis] and a couple of more," Graham said. "I can recruit now."


Graham exchanged Twitter posts with Purvis on Monday about teaming up for the Wolfpack for the 2012-13 season. Purvis, who is ranked as one of the top 10 players in the class of '12, recently decommitted to Louisville and opened up his recruiting options.

Graham, who's from Durham and played his first two high school seasons at Hillside, joins Tyler Lewis, a point guard from Lewisville, as commitments from the class of '12.

Lorenzo Brown, who will be a sophomore, is the only guard on the roster for the 2011-12 season.

Telep said Graham will provide immediate backcourt help in what will be Gottfried's second season.

"Torian Graham has the DNA of a scorer," said Telep, who's ESPN's top recruiting analyst. "The Pack is going to need a guy who can get a bucket and he's certainly able to create scoring chances off the dribble or as a shooter."

Gottfried made his mark at Alabama as a top recruiter landing future NBA stars Mo Williams and Gerald Wallace.

Graham said he felt comfortable right away with Gottfried.

"He's like a brother and a coach," Graham said. "We were on the same page."

Miami, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Georgetown and Rutgers were among the schools in pursuit of Graham.

 

why is he recruiting players from North Carolina? ain't gonna get nowhere doing that.

 

It's the WoG pipeline. It's full of STAAAAHHHHHZZZZZZ***********

 

maybe they can't afford to out bid UConn for NYC players?

 

apparently, some ACC schools do just fine outbidding for good high school players outside the woefully deficient south. stick with football and sweet tea.

elton brand: new york state
christian laettner, NYS
bobby hurley: NJ
Turner Hasbro: missouri
kyrie irving: NJ
kyle singler: oregon
shane battier: michigan
tom gugliotta: NYS
julius hodge: NYS
Lorenzo charles: NYS
thurl bailey: DC
serge zwikker: netherlands
sam perkins: NY
randolph childress: DC
Rasheed wallace: philly
tim duncan: some fucking island in the carribean
eldon campbell california

 

Q

You forgot Cozell McQueen: Bennettsville, SC

 

i didnt forget shit: bennettsville, sc, is in the south

 

okay then mr. pissy pants.....why did you leave out Vinny Del Negro? No list is complete without VDN.

 

or archie miller for that matter

 

Can't count the Duke players. Duke isn't a southern school. Really. lol