Nine to watch in '09

If you don't know these people now, you probably will by year's end

JOHN WALL: COLLEGE HOOPS RECRUIT

John Wall is the top-ranked high school basketball player in the country, and he doesn't know where he will go to college.

That combination makes the Raleigh Word of God point guard the focus of national attention. He is regularly featured on basketball recruiting sites such as rivals.com, which touts him as its top high school player in the country.

Fans of N.C. State, Duke, Memphis, Oregon, Kansas, Baylor and other college programs fantasize about how good their team will be if Wall decides to accept their school's scholarship offer.

ESPN's cameras followed Wall last week during Raleigh's GlaxoSmithKline Invitational tournament. But the 6-foot-4 point guard, who played two years at Garner before transferring to Word of God, did not offer viewers any clues about his college decision, and he is not expected to make a decision until after Word of God's season ends.

-- Tim Stevens

JOHN KANE: LUCK AND TIMING WITH A SOLID REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT RECORD

John Kane will spend 2009 expanding his Raleigh empire, even as the recession stalls other real estate developers.

His North Hills shopping, dining and entertainment complex just north of Interstate 440 is a popular draw. And the 229-room luxury Renaissance Raleigh Hotel at North Hills officially opens this week.

Across Six Forks Road, workers expect to finish a 17-story office tower and a $120 million retail and residential project later this year. Work on a $140 million retirement community is scheduled to begin in the spring.

Part of Kane's success is good luck and great timing -- he secured financing before the worst of the credit crisis hit. But he's also developed a solid track record that lenders like.

-- Alan M. Wolf

CHARLIE DEAL: CULINARY HOT SHOT

Charlie Deal, the chef-owner of Jujube in Chapel Hill, is expanding into downtown Durham.

By mid-March, Deal hopes to open a taqueria named Dos Perros -- after the two family dogs -- in the Rogers Alley building being renovated in downtown Durham by Greenfire Development.

Deal's expansion is an indication of the blossoming Durham dining scene. Durham was already a dining destination with Magnolia Grill, Nana's and Four Square. But in the past few years, the Durham restaurant scene, especially downtown, has exploded with the addition of Piedmont, Rue Cler, Toast, Watts Grocery, Rockwood Filling Station and many others, some of which have already received attention from Bon Appetit and Food & Wine.

Beyond Deal, this year's other anticipated addition to the downtown Durham restaurant scene is Eno Restaurant and Market. Eno could become the most progressive farm-to-table restaurant in the Triangle. It will be in the same building as Dos Perros.

-- Andrea Weigl

KAY HAGAN: OLD NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

The new U.S. senator from North Carolina got plenty of attention in November when she pulled a big upset over Sen. Elizabeth Dole. Kay Hagan's campaign benefited from millions of dollars in advertising from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which saw an opportunity to grab a seat in North Carolina.

Hagan, a veteran state senator from Greensboro with a decade of legislative experience in Raleigh, will have to navigate a more exclusive club in the U.S. Senate starting this month. As a freshman Senator, she may have to lower her expectations for accomplishing major legislation. Still, she'll be in position to help the Democrats push through Barack Obama's agenda.

-- Jane Stancill

RUSSELL WILSON: NCSU ATHLETE WILL KEEP US GUESSING