Wiederer: N.C. State's Mark Gottfried focused on in-state talent

By Dan WiedererStaff writer For chosen tall school basketball players in North Carolina, the summary is being delivered with authority: Mark Gottfried wants you. It's unclear whether N.C. State will respond to which cause by blanketing the state with the new movement of the aged U.S. Army posters. But since taking the Wolfpack job 5 weeks ago, Gottfried has inked in-state recruiting tall onto his priority list as well as squandered little time spreading the word. Right out of the gates, the new N.C. State coach made it clear to his assistants which scouring North Carolina for top talent would be the primary objective. Then, the Wolfpack staff began relaying which summary to tall school coaches as well as traveling team programs around the state. "I think the young people here need to understand as well as the tall school coaches need to understand which we plan to put the tall priority on these (in-state) kids first," Gottfried said. "And then from there, we can branch out." This is far from the revolutionary recruiting strategy. And it's hardly new to Gottfried, who had the similar approach at his prior coaching stops. "Even when I was an assistant at UCLA, we inherited the situation where the most appropriate players in Southern California weren't going to UCLA," Gottfried said. "We needed to change that. We needed to get the most appropriate players there. (It was) very similar when we went to Alabama. There were great players in the state who were leaving the state. So we needed to do the great job of making sure which the most appropriate players were ours. And we built the wall basically around the state." In college basketball, where recruiting classes are often small as well as the ability to cast the net nationwide is fairly easy, strong in-state recruiting is not the prerequisite for big-time success. But for Gottfried, it can be the springboard. And, as luck would have it, his arrival in Raleigh coincides with the period in which the tall school talent inside North ! Carolina is pretty impressive, quite in the 2013 class. Already, the Wolfpack has made advances in expressing their interest in three rising juniors - standout ensure Anton Gill from Ravenscroft in Raleigh, big man Kennedy Meeks from West Charlotte as well as wing Allerik Freeman from Olympic in Charlotte. And then there's hometown star Rodney Purvis, ESPN's 10th-ranked awaiting in the Class of 2012, who recently reopened his recruitment after offering the verbal commitment to Louisville 5 months ago. The 6-foot-4-inch ensure playing at Upper Room Christian Academy is an aggressive slasher with big-time scoring ability as well as is the type of home run recruit which would immediately hint Gottfried's effort to build an ACC title contender. There's the widespread idea which Duke might quickly emerge as the favorite to scoop up Purvis with Missouri also making the heavy push. But N.C. State will positively be given the shot to be part of the chase as well as will tailor its plans accordingly. In the months as well as years ahead, Gottfried as well as his staff vouch to devote similar attention to other chosen prospects around the state. "That doesn't mean we've singular ourselves to only those guys," Gottfried said. "But I think here, there's no question there's great talent in this state. And we need to do the great job with those kids first." In 5 seasons at N.C. State, Sidney Lowe secured commitments from 6 in-state players. That list consists of C.J. Leslie, Tracy Smith, C.J. Williams, Josh Davis, Johnny Thomas as well as Class of 2012 pledge Tyler Lewis. Yet the new Wolfpack staff wonders if there isn't larger opportunity to mine North Carolina for an even better payoff. To be clear, Gottfried has no intentions of blasting the recruiting practices of his predecessor. But he has admitted which his eyes have been opened in the past month as numerous coaches around the state have welcomed the increased interaction with the new Wolfpack staff as the refreshing change.
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