Scout's Take: Maverick Rowan reclassifies, commits to NC State
NC State landed a late pledge from ESPN 100 shooting guard
Maverick Rowan, who announced he would be reclassifying to the Class of 2015 and joining the Wolfpack for the coming season.
Why he committed: Rowan cited his relationship with the coaches and potential to be utilized the same way as
T.J. Warren and
Trevor Lacey were in the past. But the bottom line is he wasn’t going to leave the high school ranks a year early unless there was an immediate and significant opportunity in front of him, and that’s exactly what NC State and coach Mark Gottfried had to offer. The Wolfpack very much needed another perimeter scorer to add to their lineup this season, so Rowan should have every opportunity to make his presence felt from day one.
What he brings: Rowan is a big wing and skilled scorer. His primary weapon is his ability to shoot the basketball, but he’s more than just a spot-up shooter from beyond the arc. He’s very adept at reading and running his man off screens and is probably just as dangerous in the midrange area as he is from long range. He has a special ability to make tough pull-ups and can square his shoulders even on his way up into his release. He’ll utilize his size to score over smaller defenders, not just off the dribble but also curling screens and sometimes even by taking smaller defenders to the block. Rowan has some sneaky bounce and won’t hesitate to challenge people at the rim, but he needs to continue to work on his overall foot speed and lateral quickness.
How he fits: His ability to play off screens and generate his own offense is going to make him one of NC State’s top perimeter scoring threats, and the type of player Gottfried will be able to draw plays up for right away. Rowan will undoubtedly play significant minutes and most likely have a chance to compete for a starting spot from day one as well. His addition to the backcourt rotation, regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, will be a welcome one as it will help the Wolfpack address not just their need for perimeter scoring, but also overall depth. That group will also have good collective size and plenty of talent as Rowan joins
Anthony Barber,
Caleb and
Cody Martin, and
Terry Henderson.
How the class is shaping up: Rowan joins
Shaun Kirk, a versatile 6-foot-7 forward, as the second member of Gottfried’s
2015 recruiting class. With both Lacey and
Kyle Washington (who transferred to Cincinnati) leaving early, at one point it looked like NC State might only carry eight active scholarship players on this season's roster, so Rowan provides just the late boost of talent the Wolfpack had been desperately looking for in recent months.
Who he reminds us of: We'll call him
Klay Thompson "lite" since it probably wouldn't be fair to compare a guy who would otherwise be preparing for his senior year of high school to one of the best shooters on the planet, but there are some similarities between the two. Like Thompson, Rowan is a big-scoring shot-maker who has a special ability to make tough shots from various spots on the floor, a similarly high and compact release, and even a comparable floor game.
Anthony Cowan helps Maryland see post-Melo future
CHARLOTTE -- When it comes to discussing the preseason No. 1 ranking for the upcoming college basketball season, Maryland is among the first teams mentioned. Head coach Mark Turgeon has all the pieces needed to make a run at a national title.
But with two seniors --
Rasheed Sulaimon and
Jake Layman -- expected to be in the starting lineup, along with All-American point guard
Melo Trimble getting looks from the NBA, there are some holes to fill in order to continue the potential success in two seasons.
Anthony Cowan Jr. is doing his best to minimize the concerns at the point guard spot. The four-star prospect pledged to Maryland back in January, and Trimble’s rise over the course of the season has made Cowan even more of a necessity for the Terrapins.
“They said Turgeon loves a team with guards,” Cowan said at the Under Armour All-American Camp last week. “And with Melo maybe leaving to go to the draft, that just gets me in the perfect place to take his spot and be able to continue the winning tradition.”
Cowan was one of the most impressive prospects at the camp, putting up monster numbers all week. He finished fourth in scoring (20.0 ppg), second in assists (7.2 apg) and second in steals (3.2 spg).
In one particularly outstanding outing, Cowan went for 30 points, nine rebounds, 10 assists and four steals -- while also getting to the free-throw line 23 times.
“Obviously I’m coming here to make a name for myself,” he said. “I can’t really think about the rankings and stuff too much. I try not to look at them too much, but I always try to find something to push me a little harder.”
The St. John’s College High School (D.C.) product won’t need much motivation once he arrives in College Park, as he could be expected to take the reins of the Maryland offense right away. Trimble obviously set the bar very high for freshman point guards at Maryland, but Cowan is looking forward to his time with the Terrapins.
“I just loved the atmosphere up there,” he said. “I have a good relationship with the coaches and some of the players. It was the right fit for me. Coach Turgeon made me feel comfortable when I was on campus. And it’s obviously just 15 minutes away from my house.”
With Sulaimon and Layman departing, though, Cowan wants to make sure he has as much talent as possible surrounding him.
Robert Carter and incoming freshman
Diamond Stone will form a dominant inside duo -- if Stone returns for his sophomore season -- while
Dion Wiley and
Jared Nickens will return on the wings. But Maryland is aiming high in the 2016 class, with elite prospect
Josh Jackson (No. 3 in the ESPN 100) and five-star scorer
Markelle Fultz(No. 21) atop the wish list.
Both Jackson and Fultz were at the Under Armour camp last week.
Said Cowan: “I’m definitely over here recruiting.”
Udoka Azubuike making name as rim protector -- and rim destroyer
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- Running any event involving
Udoka Azubuike has to be a nerve-wracking ordeal. Not because the five-star 2016 prospect causes drama -- but because every time Azubuike gets the ball near the basket, there’s a chance he tears down the rim.
It’s not just an idle threat; Azubuike already broke a rim during the high school season.
“I pulled down the rim one time,” Azubuike told ESPN.com last week at the Nike EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam. “I didn’t break the glass, but I broke the rim. The rim broke off. It was fun, it was wild. Everyone was like, ‘Wooow.’”
He doesn’t shy away from it, either. When asked if he wants to tear down another rim during a game, Azubuike was enthusiastic: “Yeah, definitely!”
At 6-foot-10 and 280 pounds, Azubuike is an absolute load for opponents to defend in the low post. Nothing about his game is finesse; Azubuike is power, power, power.
“It’s something from inside,” he said. “Each time I get the ball, I feel like, ‘Just go over there and just dominate. Go over there and dunk it.’”
As a result, it might surprise some to know that Azubuike was only 185 pounds when he came to the United States from Nigeria three-and-a-half years ago. Back home, Azubuike had really only played soccer growing up. It’s tough to imagine present-day Azubuike kicking around a soccer ball, but there just wasn’t much basketball to be played.
Azubuike was brought to the United States through The Potter’s House International Ministries in Jacksonville, Florida, where Harry Coxsome is a pastor. The church was bringing kids over from Nigeria, and Coxsome and his wife were asked if they wanted to be host parents.
They never expected they'd be hosting a potential NBA player.
“He was very shy when we first got him,” said Coxsome, Azubuike's host parent and guardian. “We’ve watched him over the years, he’s very mature for his age. The guys that brought him over saw he was 6-foot-9, and they thought he had a chance. He was very raw. It took a while, but after his first year here, we saw he had a lot of talent. He’s very eager, wanting to learn.”
Despite not really understanding the game of basketball until coming to the United States, it was impossible to keep Azubuike a secret for long once he started playing on American soil. He showed flashes at a Basketball Without Borders camp in Nigeria but really took off during his sophomore year at Potter’s House. Azubuike also played in the international game of the Jordan Brand Classic in 2014, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds and three blocks.
The power game that first brought him attention isn’t going anywhere, although he’s looking to add wrinkles to his face-up game. Don’t expect Azubuike to suddenly become the next Dirk Nowitzki, though.
“Some big men like shooting jumpers and fancy stuff, I just like doing the basic stuff that big men do,” Azubuike said. “That’s my game. That’s the kind of game I like to play.”
Since becoming a national name, there have been some questions about Azubuike’s “real” age. The combination of his size and strength, in addition to the fact he only came to the United States a few years ago, has raised eyebrows.
Coxsome said Azubuike is 15 years old and will turn 16 in September.
“We would go to the basketball games, and I would see people in the stands with signs: ‘This is a grown man, there’s no way he can be 15,’” Coxsome said. “It bothered us at first, and we told him to basically ignore it, because I know it bothered him also. We dealt with it, and we know his age, so we moved on.”
Concerns about his age have impacted neither his development nor his recruitment a great deal. Azubuike is ranked No. 19 in the
ESPN 100 for the 2016 class, the third-best center in the country. He’s coming off a championship at the Nike Peach Jam, where he capped off an impressive spring and summer that saw him average 13.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 blocks on the Nike EYBL circuit. Azubuike also shot 66 percent from the floor.
Azubuike listed Florida State, Kansas, North Carolina, UConn and Florida, while also mentioning he spoke to Duke last month.
“We’re going to sit down and see what we have and then make a decision some time during his senior year,” Coxsome said.
Any of those schools would obviously love to get their hands on Azubuike.
