Dennis Smith Jr. to Enroll at N.C. State in January | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Thursday / March 28.
  • Dennis Smith Jr. to Enroll at N.C. State in January

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    1579040Dennis Smith Jr. has announced that he will be graduating high school early, and will enroll at N.C. State in January.

    “It’s mainly for rehab purposes,” Smith Jr. said on ESPNU Thursday. “I can rehab everyday there, and thankfully my grades are good enough for me to do it early.”

    Smith Jr., who committed to the Wolfpack in September, went on to say that rehab on his ACL following surgery Aug. 7 has been going even better than the original plan.

    “It’s going great,” Smith Jr. said. “I’m ahead of schedule. I have a great therapist and I have a great surgeon up at Duke, so rehab is going great right now.”

    Smith, a native of Fayetteville, N.C., is the highest-ranked recruit NC State has signed since the Recruiting Services Consensus Index began ranking prospects in 1998. He is the No. 4 recruit overall and the No. 1 point guard according to ESPN.com. He’s tabbed No. 6 overall in the composite ranking of 247Sports and he’s ranked eighth by Scout.

    “We are extremely thrilled to have Dennis join our Wolfpack family,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “He’s a special talent who will be an electric player for our fans to watch. I’m excited to coach Dennis because not only is he extremely talented, but he’s also a terrific young man with tremendous character. He’s the type of person other players will want to play with.”

    N.C. State is hoping to add 6-foot-10 power forward Bam Adebayo to its 2016 class along with Smith Jr. The two are close friends and Adebayo could announce his college choice as early as Monday. Kentucky and Auburn are among those also involved.

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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