Now roommates and teammates at NC State, these high school stars clash for final time
Perhaps the only person who could slow down a dominant night from guard Terquavion Smith was his own roommate.
Late in the second half of the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star game, Smith, the Farmville Central graduate and current N.C. State freshman, was looking to put an exclamation point on his MVP performance.
Smith, the 6-3 guard who was named the state’s Gatorade Player of the Year and Mr. Basketball soared through the lane, rising above everyone and looking to put someone on a poster. Smith was fouled hard on the play, erasing any chance of one last slam. The culprit on the play? His Wolfpack classmate and former Reidsville guard, Breon Pass.
“He tried, you know,” Pass said. “It’s all good. He didn’t dunk on me though.”
A few feet away Smith, who was named the game’s MVP after scoring 30 points to lead the East to a 116-92 win, walked up.
“I’ll get him one day,” Smith joked.
Monday might be his last chance for a while. The freshman guards, who have already enrolled in summer classes and gone through workouts with the Wolfpack, have known each other since they were in seventh grade. They’ve battled each other on the hardwood — Smith’s Jaguars knocked Pass and his Rams out of the playoffs last season — and have been linked together for years.
Somehow Pass was on the West team in this particular All-Star game (even though he won a 2A East title in football), but he and Smith never guarded each other until the fourth quarter.
“We guard each other everyday,” Smith said after the game.
The All-Star game was their final game in their prep careers and the next time anyone sees the duo they will both be wearing red and white. Pass, who received his NCHSAA Male Athlete of the Year Award at halftime, scored 13 points for the West.
Pass drove himself and Smith to Greensboro from Raleigh on Saturday, when teams had to check in and in the wee hours of the night. The duo then jumped back in his car and head back to campus. There were workouts in the morning.
Less than 24 hours after officially closing out their high school careers, it would be right back to work with their N.C. State teammates. Smith (6-3, 170) and Pass (6-0, 175) are part of a three-man freshman class for head coach Kevin Keatts and could be the back court of the future for the Wolfpack.
Monday was a slight showcase for N.C. State fans of what they can bring to the table immediately next season - Smith with his ability to score from anywhere on the floor, Pass with the type of play making skills to run a team. The perfect back court duo that the Wolfpack nation can envision leading the team back to its glory days.
“This is going to be a good season,” Smith said. “The goal is to get to the tournament and I feel confident we are going to get there.”
Pass echoed his roommates confidence.
“We are coming,” Pass said. “And we’re going to bring everything we got.”
One-two punch
Smith wasted no time getting into a rhythm in the East-West game. He scored the first six points for the East and had more points after quarter by himself (17) than the entire West roster (15). At Farmville Central he scored 2,139 points and won three state titles.
He did most of this on Monday night running the show. His future point guard teammate was on the other side. Pass did plenty of scoring at Reidsville (averaged 32.6 points as a senior), but will have plenty of play makers alongside him in Raleigh.
Since they’ve arrived on campus, Smith and Pass have gotten the chance to play together more often, in scrimmages with their N.C. State teammates and pickup games.
Even though they’ve known each other for years and have seen the other person play, the last few months has been a real opportunity to gel on the hardwood.
Watching Pass up close daily has given Smith a better appreciation for his game.
“Breon has good pace, he’s a lights out shooter, he can get hot fast,” Smith said. “And he can control the game, but he really can switch it up, a combo guard for real. Breon’s like my fuel to my fire, once I know he’s locked in, we are locked in. I can feed off of him, he can feed off of me. It’s clicking right.”
Pass, who focused on two sports his entire prep career, told the News & Observer that he feels like his IQ is getting better everyday since he’s focusing on just basketball now.
“My pace, I know how to slow myself down and how to speed up,” Pass said. “And how to use my body to get to the rim. I’m labeled as a short guard so I have to use my body to adjust to the fast pace game.”
Pass has leaned a lot on N.C. State sophomore guard Cam Hayes, another Triad product, to show him the ropes.
Hayes will probably get the first crack at point guard for Kevin Keatts next season, but Pass will get his chance to run the team. The first lesson is getting a feel for his back court mate, Smith.
“He’s going to get a bucket,” Pass said. “T is going to be T regardless.”
Pass tried to give his West teammates a scouting report on Smith, but to know avail.
“Everybody knows about T,” Pass said. “There really is no game plan for him.”
Something to prove
Both Smith and Pass made their marks in the NCHSAA 2A ranks.
Smith won three state championships at Farmville Central, Pass won three football titles at Reidsville, and might go down as one of the best two-way athletes in state history.
Both players have been household names since they were sophomores, packing gyms and stadiums wherever they played. But coming from a smaller division, they feel like there is still plenty to prove.
“We feel like we are underrated,” Pass said. “So every time we play on the court together we are coming at their neck, that’s just the chip on our shoulder.”
Smith and Pass were ranked the fifth and sixth player in the state, respectively and the duo, along with freshman Ernest Ross propelled N.C. State’s class to No. 5 in the ACC and No. 25 in the country, the first top 25 class for Keatts.
Ross, a 6-9 forward from Florida, is the highest ranked player in the class, No. 68 nationally according to 247Sports, but local fans have a lot riding on the two in-state guards. They plan on doing their part not to let those fans down.
“There’s a lot of time we put together, just me and him, one on one in the gym,” Pass said. “Just to get each other better.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 2:00 PM.
