Shaun Kirk brings athleticism and depth to the Wolfpack

When Shaun Kirk unexpectedly committed to NC State on April 27, it broke the over 500 day streak of no commitments for the Wolfpack. However, within 12 hours, it came out that Kirk was offered by Kentucky and was considering their offer. Today, however, Kirk turned back the Wildcats (and his high school coach) and ended an intense 36 hour run from UK. Kirk was debating going back to the class of 2016, but the offer from the Red and White may have been what changed his mind, as he has signed for next year.

Kirk measures at 6'6" and around 185 pounds and is a freak athlete and streaky shooter. While coming out of left field, he is not an unknown. Interest from schools like Charlotte, Memphis, Wake Forest, and others show that he was a hot prospect after a strong stretch with Team Loaded on the AAU circuit. Playing with top 10 2016 prospects Dennis Smith Jr. and Edrice Adebayo, his strong play earned him an offer from the Wolfpack, which he accepted immediately. Smith and Adebayo are both currently perceived as leans to NC State.

Kirk, as of now, is the seventh or eighth man in the rotation, and should see similar playing time to that of Cody Martin last season. That said, he fills an important role for NC State. The Pack definitely needed another body and will always take athleticism if there is some skill to go along with it, which Kirk provides. A decent ball handler and defender, any immediate scoring that he provides will be a plus. As a probable four year player, the Wolfpack will have talent on the wing for a few years.

As for the remainder of the class, a backup point guard and rotation big man remain. The point guard market has been pretty saturated, but these coaches have been known to find usable post players late in the game before. The big name (and mystery) is Georgios Papagiannis, a seven foot center playing semi-pro ball in Greece. Mark Gottfried has made at least two trips overseas to see him and he is considered a top 50 talent, if not higher. Other options may include grad transfer Anton Grady of Cleveland State.