Four-star center in NC State basketball’s 2022 recruiting class decommits from Pack
Four men’s basketball players have transferred out of N.C. State this offseason. On Monday, the Wolfpack lost another player it expected to have on its roster next season.
Center Shawn Phillips, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound four-star prospect from Arizona, who was part of the Pack’s 2022 recruiting class, posted on Instagram that he was re-opening his recruitment. Phillips cited “staff changes” as the reason for decommitting.
“I would like to say thanks to Coach Keatts and the staff for recruiting me and giving me the opportunity to play at N.C. State,” Phillips wrote.
He ended the post with, “Time to find a new home.”
Following the Wolfpack’s rough season, Keatts and N.C. State parted ways with assistants Roy Roberson and Mike Summey. Summey was the lead recruiter in landing Phillips.
N.C. State’s lone remaining recruit in the class of 2022 is Bull City Prep point guard L.J. Thomas.
Phillips played at Dream City Christian and is ranked the No. 10 player in Arizona and the No. 20 center in the nation, according to 247Sports composite. Phillips figured to have a big role with the Wolfpack next season, with the lack of post players on the roster.
This offseason, four players have entered the transfer portal, including forwards Manny Bates and Jaylon Gibson.
Sophomore Ebenezer Dowuona is the most experienced post player on the current roster. Greg Gantt missed all of last season with an injury. Ernest Ross had surgery in January and missed the remainder of the season.
Two more players — Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron — have submitted their name in the NBA Draft, but could return to school.
Phillips verbally committed to N.C. State in September, picking the Wolfpack over offers from Cincinnati, Dayton, Indiana and Maryland. He signed a national letter of intent two months after committing. Phillips is the second player to decommit this offseason. Class of 2023 point guard Robert Dillingham re-opened his recruitment in March.
A breakdown of N.C. State’s off season moves
TRANSFERRED | New schools | |
Cam Hayes | Greensboro, N.C. | LSU |
Manny Bates | Fayetteville, N.C. | N/A |
Jaylon Gibson | Zebulon, N.C. | Winston-Salem State |
Thomas Allen | Raleigh, N.C. | N/A |
EXHAUSTED ELIGIBILITY | ||
Jericole Hellems | St. Louis, Mo. | |
ENTERED NBA DRAFT | ||
*Terquavion Smith | Greenville, N.C. | Guard |
*Dereon Seabron | Norfolk, Va. | Guard |
CURRENT ROSTER | ||
Breon Pass | Reidsville, N.C. | Guard |
Casey Morsell | Ft. Washington, Md. | Guard |
*Chase Graham | Raleigh, N.C. | Guard |
*Alex Nunnally | Cary, N.C. | Guard |
Ebenezer Dowuona | Accra, Ghana | Forward |
Ernest Ross | Alachua, Fla. | Forward |
Greg Gantt | Fayetteville, N.C. | Forward |
*Could return
This story was originally published April 18, 2022 at 6:26 PM.
