The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER 2017 ■ 129 ■ BASKETBALL RECRUITING Content experts, conference presenters, trainers, & leaders. Get the skills that you need to engage, enliven and educate any audience BEFORE you present. Just Say NO! to Boring Presentations! Alan Hoffler, owner BS AE '90 MS MA '93 Public workshops in Raleigh or have your team trained on-site. Call Now! (919) 386-9238 millswyck.com www.systemscontractors.com Since 1977, Systems Contractors, Inc. has provided Industrial & Commercial HVAC Services throughout the Southeast. Call us today to learn more. 336.449.0300 • Commercial and Industrial HVAC • Design/Build • Piping • Custom Metal Fabrication • Service and Maintenance Contracts • Custom AHU's and Packaged Plants • Engineering Services • Energy Studies Q U A L I T Y • E F F I C I E N C Y • I N N O V AT I O N Britt as a 10th grader, and I have had the pleasure of watching his growth every step of the way," Baker said. "I saw him with Team Loaded NC 16s, and then he came here. He went from an okay basketball player to a very good basketball player. He has worked hard." Baker knew of Kevin Keatts prior to the summer, but got to know him a lot better during the recruiting process. "I had never met him personally, but knew his background," Baker said. "I knew when he was an assistant at Louisville and his time at Hargrave Military Academy [in Chatham, Va.]. I knew the job he had done at UNC Wilmington and them going to the Big Dance. "I met Coach Keatts this sum- mer at NCSU's team camp. "As a person, that is not a bad place for my guys with what he does and that pro- gram, and how he cares for his players." Steere and Bates didn't set out to play to- gether. Steere originally committed to Creigh- ton, but when he decommitted Sept. 22 it was an easy and straightforward recruitment in picking NC State. The Pack was in the rare position of essentially of just making sure his official visit Sept. 29-Oct. 1 went well. The Sanford, N.C., native verbally commit- ted Oct. 6 in a ceremony at Northwood Tem- ple that mirrored the one Bates had Sept. 15. NC State zeroed in on both Bates and Steere during team camp in late June, and both were offered going into July. Steere picked Creighton a few days later July 6, leav- ing NCSU to pursue Bates with even more fervor during the July evaluation periods. Bates officially visited Georgetown and NC State, and then cancelled his remaining trips to South Carolina and Georgia Tech. The chance to play close to home and in the ACC proved to be a winning combination for him. "The fans are great, the coaching staff is great and the team is great," Bates said. "It's a perfect situation." Bates and Steere both played in the Un- der Armour Association league this past spring and summer, but for different teams. Bates was on the Team Felton traveling squad, which is sponsored by former UNC point guard Raymond Felton of the Okla- homa City Thunder. Steere also learned from a former NBA player, with ex-North Carolina point guard Jeff McInnis coaching him on Team Charlotte. Bates said the first time the two ever faced each other was at the NC State team camp, but both were tired from playing several games in one day. The two teams never met on the Under Armour schedule. The chance to square off came in a Big Shots event in Charlotte, N.C., during the second evaluation period in July.