NC State MBB Picked 8th in ACC Preseason Poll

 RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men’s basketball team was picked eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference Operation Basketball Preseason Poll that was announced on Wednesday. 

Media members covering the ACC voted in the poll.

The Pack returns five of its top-seven scorers from last season’s 20-12 squad.

DJ Funderburk (12.8 ppg and 6.1 rpg), Devon Daniels (12.7 ppg, and 5.3 rpg), and Braxton Beverly (7.1 ppg) are the three seniors on this season’s NC State squad.

Also returning for the Pack is junior Jericole Hellems (9.5 ppg and 3.4 rpg) and sophomore Manny Bates (5.1 ppg and 2.9 bpg). Bates led the ACC and ranked sixth in the NCAA last season with 83 blocked shots.

Redshirt junior Thomas Allen. The Raleigh native played at Nebraska for two seasons before sitting out last season as a transfer. Allen averaged 8.7 points per game and started 25 games as a sophomore with the Cornhuskers.

The six veterans are joined by six freshmen who will be making their college debuts this season. The five true freshmen and redshirt freshmen combine to form one of the top incoming freshmen classes in the country.

Freshman Cam Hayes, the top-ranked player in NC State’s freshman class, received one vote for Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year.

NC State opens its fourth-season under head coach Kevin Keatts in two weeks when it begins to play at the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational.