Four-star guard Maverick Rowan commits to North Carolina State
Maverick Rowan dragged out his college decision until well after most of the top players in the class of 2015 had already committed to or signed with schools. On Sunday, the four-star shooting guard announced that he will attend North Carolina State.
Long viewed as a member of the class of 2016, Rowan decided to pursue a reclassification after his 2014-15 season at Cardinal Gibbons (Fla.) High—where he transferred last summer after two seasons at Lincoln Park (Pa.) High. Rowan, who formerly had committed to Pittsburgh, took courses this summer at the Elev|8 Institute in Delray Beach, Fla., in hopes of becoming eligible for the start of the upcoming season. In July, Rowan released a list of his top four schools: Louisville, N.C. State, St. John’s and West Virginia.
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Rowan said at the Nike Peach Jam that, when assessing the merits of those schools, he was focusing on which one would offer instant playing time. “Playing right away—I don’t want to skip my senior year and go sit on the bench,” Rowan said, adding that another factor was “hopefully winning in March, when it matters.” In discussing his affinity for the Wolfpack, Rowan mentioned the possibility of assuming a role resembling those of former standouts T.J. Warren and Trevor Lacey during their stints with the program.
At 6’6" and 200 pounds, Rowan is highly regarded for his scoring ability. A proficient three-point shooter, Rowan is also athletic enough to manufacture his own shot off the dribble but would be best served operating in catch-and-shoot situations. Even though the Wolfpack likely won’t count on Rowan to become one of their primary shot creators early on, he could help spread the floor with his long-range accuracy; N.C. State ranked 157th in the nation last season in effective field goal percentage, which factors in the added value of the three-point shot.
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As a junior at Cardinal Gibbons, Rowan averaged 26.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and shot 61.3% from the field while guiding the Chiefs to a state championship. In 19 games this year on the Elite Youth Basketball League circuit with the Florida-based grassroots program Each 1 Teach 1, Rowan averaged 17.4 points and 3.4 rebounds while shooting 37.2% from three-point range.
The only other player committed to the Wolfpack in the class of 2015 is three-star small forward Shaun Kirk. N.C. State upset No. 1 seed Villanova in the third round of this year’s NCAA tournament before falling to No. 4 seed Louisville in the Sweet 16 and finishing with a 22-14 record. The Wolfpack are considered one of the top contenders to land a coveted point guard-big man duo in the class of 2016, Dennis Smith and Edrice “Bam” Adebayo.
