Terquavion Smith: A Focal Point for Building

Terquavion Smith has decided to remain at NC State in 2022-23, and that is a show of devotion that the Wolfpack basketball program can build around.

There had been a lot going on at NC State. National titles and snubbed teams. Wolfpack athletics tend to run the gamut, but the Memorial Day weekend could drain even a casual NCSU fan. 

NC State has few of those. The fervor tends to run deeper. After passionately deriding the decision to omit the Wolfpack baseball team from postseason play, the NCSU fan base could have probably used a day to recharge. 

That's not how the Pack rolls. 

Enter Terquavion Smith. 

Or to put it correctly, re-enter Terquavion Smith. 

It is hard to quantify just how important Smith's decision to eschew certain millions and remain a member of NC State's basketball program is. It is a choice that can gain plenty of equity, both next season and beyond. 

Terquavion Smith plans to return to NC State in 2022-23. 

Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

There is the matter of improving the Wolfpack on the court next season. In theory, that would seem to be the easiest as NCSU is coming off a 21-loss campaign that ended with the Pack in last place in the ACC. There likely is nowhere to go but up.

NC State adds four transfers, returns Smith, and awaits a decision from Dereon Seabron. Suddenly, there is some hope in Raleigh. 

What the Wolfpack has sorely lacked in recent seasons, among other things, is fan enthusiasm. Smith's pending return is helping NCSU turn the corner. The apathy of 2019-20 through 2021-22 is starting to give way to a guarded hope, which is pragmatic for where NC State has been.

With one NCAA Tournament appearance and no NCAA Tournament wins since 2015, it would be foolish at this point to look for trophy space. Give this version of NC State until February, and then gauge where the program is headed. 

An effective way to generate enthusiasm from fans is for them to both see it and feel it from the players. 

There was a time where NC State had Jim Valvano, one of the most charismatic coaches ever, but in the late-1980s there was a cloud forming over the school.

Knowing there would be change at the top, and little-to-no postseason incentive, players like Chris Corchiani, Rodney Monroe, Tom Gugliotta, Kevin Thompson, and others elected to stay at NC State in 1989-90.

That is the reference point that the program can now use. There are great players who are great people, and they can love North Carolina State University deeply. Smith's decision to return mirrors that. 

Those players from the past should be able to relate to Smith loving NC State, and they are equipped to tell fans, players, coaches, and anyone who listen just how much the school means to them. It is a vital asset for NCSU.

The NIL equation is hard to figure out at this junction. There isn't several years of data to look at and NC State is not exactly tearing it up as a marquee program these days. 

NC State has 11 NCAA Tournament berths in 31 years since Valvano was jettisoned. Any commercial value the Wolfpack program has at the moment is predominately based on heritage and potential -- with heritage slipping out the door fast as the titles of the 1980s are drifting further and further away into a glorious yet distant past. 

There are people that are 32 years old in this world who have not lived to see NCSU win any form of championship in men's basketball. 

To think Smith as a sophomore at NC State can equal or even be in the ballpark financially of what he could have made as an NBA player seems silly.

Smith almost certainly will hope to improve his draft stock, but there is no crime in that at all. Every college basketball player on the planet will play pro ball somewhere if there is someone that will pay them. 

The hope of success from Smith's decision to return can be concentrated in three things. Improving draft position, improving NC State's win/loss record, and improving the NIL opportunities for players that come behind him. 

Each one of those fall within the realms of legacy and love of institution. 

A top draft pick provides proof players can come to NC State and achieve individual goals. The Wolfpack competing at a higher level will bring in better players. NIL opportunities are subject to be better at places that win and have people who care deeply. 

And what that means is, whether he achieves what he sets out to do or not, Smith, a North Carolina-native, is exactly the type of player and person that NC State needs more of in order to lift itself up to the upper echelons of both the ACC and national landscape. 

Terquavion Smith may not climb the mountain, but NC State needs people like him who are willing to try, both for themselves and for their school. By returning, he secured an important piece of his Wolfpack legacy.

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