8pm Update: BREAKING NEWS! – The Wolfpacker beat Pack Pride by about 15 minutes on this one with their report that Deshawn Painter has chosen to play basketball at NC State. SFN heard last week that NC State was ‘expecting’ to land Painter, but you never count your chickens before they hatch. We felt pretty good about State’s odds after Painter got out of his visit in College Park this past weekend without falling in love and committing in person to Gary Williams. So, we got ready to run this story this evening so that we would be prepared. Good timing/ CONGRATULATIONS, Coach Lowe and the Wolfpack!!
The recruitment of the one of the top remaining post prospects in country ended on Wednesday when Deshawn Painter chose NC State over Maryland after eliminating Virginia Tech from consideration earlier in the week.
Painter, of Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy, is a very athletic, ‘lengthy’ 6’9 power forward who has a well rounded game that includes the ability to rebound and block shots. After originally committing to Billy Donovan at the University of Florida, DeShawn ultimately changed his mind and re-opened his recruitment.
He is ranked as one of the Top 75 high school players in the country; Scout has given him four stars and Rivals has given him three stars. ESPNU ranks Painter #19 on their list of top power forwards in the country, achieving “score” of 92 as NC State’s other post commit – Richard Howell. Howell is ranked #20 on ESPNU’s list.
- Wolfpack Hoops’ biography/profile of Painter can be seen by clicking here.
- ESPNU’s assessment can be seen by clicking here.
Make no mistake about Painter’s potential impact on NC State’s 2009-2010 team and on the program into the future. In this thorough entry on March 23rd we stated the following:
Much is made about State’s struggles and needs at the point guard position…and, Ryan Harrow may be scheduled to arrive in Raleigh one year too late for Coach Lowe. But, I see an even more glaring deficiency on the Wolfpack’s roster after the departure of Brandon Costner – NC State desperately needs some size, heft and toughness in the post. Despite the addition of Richard Howell in the 2009 recruiting class, an ‘ideal’ candidate for one of the Wolfpack’s remaining scholarships would be a junior college big man – preferably a true center of close to 7 feet – who can defend, block shots and rebound. Additionally, this would be ideal for current and future scholarship spacing needs.
Although Painter may not represent the ‘ideal’ situation that we projected with a hypothetical junior college prospect, he’s damn close and would obviously contribute to the program for more than just two seasons. Having versatile and skilled bookends in the post like Richard Howell and DeShawn Painter (as freshmen) behind Tracy Smith and Dennis Horner would create an awful lot of depth for the Wolfpack next year, and beyond) while helping to blunt the blow of (potentially) losing CJ Leslie from next year’s class.
Projected 2009-2010 NC State Basketball Roster
Senior Class
(1) Dennis Horner (F)
(2) Farnold Degand (PG)
Junior Class
(3) Javi Gonzalez (PG)
(4) Tracy Smith (4F)
Sophomore Class
(5) Johnny Thomas (Wing)
(6) Julius Mays (PG/SG)
(7) CJ Williams (Wing)
Freshman Class
(8) Scott Wood (Wing)
(9) Lorenzo Brown (PG/SG)
(10) Richard Howell (PF)
(11) Josh Davis (WF)
(12) Jordan Vandenberg (C)
(13) DeShawn Painter (PF/C)
2010 Commits
(1) Departure of Dennis Horner – Ryan Harrow (PG)
(2) Departure of Farnold Degand – Previously CJ Leslie (PF/C)
2011 Commits
(3) Departure of Javi Gonzalez
(4) Departure of Tracy Smith
