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Steve Victory JOURNAL – Preseason 2026-27
Flashing back to November 2026…
Only one starter returned from the 2026 national championship team – SF Jalen Hemphill. He’s a senior now and ready for a monster exit to college hoops, hoping to earn a nice NBA living after leading State to its third title…
Sophomore Roy Wrenn will take over at point guard. Redshirt sophomore Marcus Hill will step in at SG. Junior Deon Brown is back in the starting lineup at PF, and much improved redshirt senior Brandon Collins gets the nod at center. A decent lineup indeed, but one that could win 40-plus games? Hardly, Victory thought at the time. “We’ll be hard-pressed to make it back to the Final Four again,” he said to himself. “This is a rebuilding year in many ways...”
THE BENCH
C Jean Sykes (redshirt soph)
PG Ian Demory (sophomore – decent backup!)
SF Calvin Carstensen (also solid backup)
C Damian Guthridge (frosh-decent prospect)
PG Todd Holliway (frosh)
SG Josh Hamilton (frosh)
REDSHIRTS
PG Julian Collins (frosh)
C Brandon Carey (frosh)
Victory is surprised to see NCSU’s freshman class listed as 11th best in the nation. He had a tough time with recruiting the year before, and the first players didn’t sign until weeks 5 and 6, even though State was on the way to its second title in a row. He didn’t get much of a catch in his opinion, but maybe these guys would develop into solid four-year contributors with the right training. Guthridge (no relation to the former UNC coach) is probably the best of the bunch…
The overall talent level remains at “Superior.” Game challenge level is considered “Very Easy.” State administrators just want to see the Pack back in the NCT. Prestige is now up to 68 (High). The Pack begins the season ranked eighth and seventh in the first polls of the year. The first opponent: UConn in the Alaska Challenge…
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