The North Carolina State Wolfpack made a bold statement to the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference recruiting giants.
Coach Mark Gottfried has already been making waves around the recruitment circles with his coup of Maverick Rowan, who reclassified to the class of 2015. But he also made the second highest recruitment signing of 2016 so far-no.4 Dennis Smith Jr.
ESPN ranked Smith at no.4 in their Top 100 college basketball players, just outside the consensus Top 3 of Jayson Tatum, Josh Jackson and Harry Giles. The future Wolfpack skipper is also the no.1 point guard in a class rich in playmaking talent.
"Growing up an NC State fan, I knew they would be one of my top schools," Smith told ESPN. "Coach [Mark] Gottfried made me a priority, showing up, sitting in front to all my games in the live periods. That loyalty meant a lot to me. After giving the decision a lot of thought, we all felt State was the best situation for me."
Other schools who offered Smith were ACC schools Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest, North Carolina and even Kentucky.
Despite getting an ACL injury that would sideline him for his senior high school year, the recruitment never let up. The young North Carolina native updated his recovery. "My recovery is going great," Smith said. "Actually, it's going a little faster than expected. I just went from walking with two crutches to walking with one crutch, and my knee is starting to bend ... I am excited."
He also made a definitive remark: "My first call is going to be to Bam Adebayo and get him on board."
Bam Adebayo is ranked no.6 in the ESPN 100 and the second highest ranked power forward (next to Giles). The two are close friends and teammates on in the summer camps. Gottfried even used a helicopter to visit both students' parents.
According to 24/7 Sports, 75% of predictions for Edrice "Bam" Adebayo have him following Smith with the Wolfpack. UNC Tar Heels has the other 25%, as they believe Adebayo will stay in-state.
It seems like Smith and Adebayo may form their package deal soon.