Thursday, January 31, 2013
NC State's big weekend
By Luke Lapinski
North Carolina State hasn't won the Julius Randle sweepstakes by any means. The gifted big man is ranked No. 4 on the ESPN 100 -- No. 2 among remaining unsigned players -- and has only visited three of the five schools he's considering so far. But the Wolfpack seem to have made a very good impression already.
That's because Randle visited Raleigh this past weekend and came away very happy with what he saw. He was in attendance when Mark Gottfried's group ousted rival North Carolina, liked the atmosphere around the program and seems very comfortable with how he'd fit into the current system if NC State ends up being his choice.
"It was a great experience," Randle emphasized, according to our own Dave Telep. "The fans showed me a lot of love from the day I got there and definitely one of the best visits I've ever had. Plus, I got to hang out with Rodney [Purvis]."
Purvis, of course, is a freshman on this year's club, and a very good friend of Randle's. And it never hurts to have a close connection to a big time recruit on the roster already. Still, as Telep points out, this race is far from over as the five-star prospect has yet to even visit Texas and Kansas yet, and is definitely still considering Kentucky and Florida as well.
