N.C. State might be looking up at Duke and North Carolina in the ACC standings, but it’s the Blue Devils and Tar Heels who are chasing the Wolfpack on the recruiting trail. At least when it comes to McDonald’s All-Americans.
Three N.C. State basketball recruits have been selected to play in the 35th McDonald’s All-American boys basketball game, which will be played in Chicago on March 28.
The Wolfpack recruits are Rodney Purvis, a guard from Raleigh’s Upper Room Academy; Tyler Lewis, a guard who played at Forsyth Country Day in 2010-11 before arriving at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill this season; and T.J. Warren, a forward who played at Durham Riverside and Raleigh Word of God before going to Brewster Academy for this season.
Duke recruit Rasheed Sulaimon, a guard from Houston, was also selected for the game. So, too, was North Carolina recruit Marcus Paige, a guard from Marion, Iowa. They will both play on the West Team.
N.C. State has never had more than two McDonald’s All-Americans in one recruiting class, and the most recent time the Wolfpack had that many was in 1987, when both Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe were McDonald’s All-Americans. During their years at State, they later came to be known as “Fire and Ice.”
The Wolfpack also signed a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans in 1979, when Sidney Lowe and Dereck Whittenburg played in the all-star game that is generally regarded as the nation’s most prestigious for high school basketball players. Lowe and Whittenburg played instrumental roles in the Pack’s 1983 national championship.
In addition to Wolfpack sophomore C.J. Leslie, 11 former N.C. State players were McDonald’s All-Americans. Some of those include J.J. Hickson (2007), Brandon Costner (2005), Julius Hodge (2001) and Chris Washburn (1984).
Purvis learned that he had been chosen for the McDonald’s game when it was announced on television Thursday night. He was at a restaurant in Raleigh with family and friends.
“We just celebrated,” he said. “If you know the history of this game, you really appreciate what an honor it is to be chosen.”
Purvis said he was looking forward to playing with his future Wolfpack teammates, all of whom will represent the East Team.
“We have always played against each other,” Purvis said. “I’m really excited to have them as teammates.”
Staff writer Tim Stevens contributed to this report.
