The twists and turns of NC State's offseason have included transfers, NBA Draft declarations, the return of Abdul-Malik Abu after transfer talks and the addition of two potential contributors for 2016-17.
Mark Gottfried had to put in some work with his roster in flux, but the dust has settled and NC State has a roster with more and depth and talent than it did a year ago. In late May, when Gary Parrish put together his post-NBA Draft deadline Top 25 (and one), the Wolfpack made an appearance at No. 26.
The commitment of Turkish star Omer Yurtseven provided plenty of excitement for NC State fans looking for a good recruiting win, and now Gottfried has a late addition to the class with four-star guard Markell Johnson. Johnson, Yurtseven, five-star guard Dennis Smith (an early enrollee in January) and three-star Darius Hicks now give the Wolfpack the No. 7 recruiting class in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.
Johnson, a 6-foot-1 guard from Cleveland ranked as the No. 58 prospect in the country, recently reclassified and chose the Pack over Louisville, Xavier and others. He made the announcement official on Twitter this week.
After Cat Barber went pro, Cody and Caleb Martin transferred and the frontcourt duo of Abu and Beejay Anya were eyeing the door, things looked bleak for the beginning of the Dennis Smith era at NC State. Now the frontcourt is not only back, but beefed up (as long as Yurtseven is cleared by the NCAA) and Smith has a talented backup in Johnson.
