Roster Building: A Closer Look at the Front Court
The Wolfpack’s front court is built around a group that’s hard to stack up cleanly against one another, mostly because the five big men come from such different backgrounds. Evans spent four years in Division I mid-major ball, including two seasons in the Mountain West and two in the Big West, and he started throughout while playing drop coverage for his career.
Yalaho brings three years of experience, with two in the Big 12 and last season in the WCC, and he also started. Jurkovic arrives from international ball as a role player with three seasons under his belt and is 24 years old.
Hall has one full JUCO season and one partial season as a starting center. Wilkins has no Division I game experience at all, though the word from practice last season was that fans should expect to like what they see this season.
That mix makes direct comparison tricky. Evans and Yalaho should probably look close to what their film says they are, while the other three could end up looking better than their numbers suggest.
Size is one place where this group stands out. The official measurements still aren’t in, but this team should wind up a little taller than last season’s Wolfpack.
If Jurkovic checks in at 6-foot-9 - some say 6-foot-10 - the team average lands at 78 inches. KenPom listed last year’s team at 77.9 inches, good for 95th nationally.
And unlike last season, when bigger pieces like Deng, Wilkins, Ebube and Langdon didn’t provide much, this year’s front court looks more substantial. The back court is a bit smaller than last season at 6-foot-3.8 compared with 6-foot-4.3, while the front court is taller at 6-foot-9.4 versus 6-foot-8.5.
On the glass, Evans should be the anchor. We’ve been told in preseason write-ups that he won’t be playing as close to the basket on defense this season as he did last year, which could affect his defensive rebounding.
Still, with his size and athleticism, he looks like the leading rebounder in the group. Jurkovic’s raw numbers don’t jump off the page, but when adjusted to 40 minutes, he and Yalaho project as comparable 8-point-something rebounds-per-game players.
Hall’s line is the eye-catcher: 7.8 rebounds in 15.6 minutes. That number isn’t clean because the school didn’t record minutes in some of his games - JUCO stat guy!
Even so, he had eight games with double-digit rebounds and three more with nine. He has the height, athleticism and frame to rebound well in the ACC, but he’ll need to prove it, and that may take some time.
The rim protection is where Evans separates himself. He was the nation’s top shot blocker, finishing with 115 total blocks and 3.29 per game.
Jurkovic had just nine blocks last season. Hall was strong there too, piling up 65 blocks, blocking at least one shot in 25 of 30 games and recording 12 games with three or more.
Offensively, there’s a lot to like. Jurkovic is a high-level shooter, hitting 41.9% from three and 75% from two.
If he gets the ball, he’s shooting it, and he’s not going to pass it. That’s a good thing.
Yalaho keeps things balanced, taking 54.2% of his shots from deep while knocking down just under 40%, and he’s an excellent 79.7% free throw shooter when he goes inside. Evans and Hall are more finishers than creators, with most of their shots coming off assists or rebounds, but they convert at 63.5% and 65.1%, respectively.
Evans is also an outstanding free throw shooter. Neither Evans nor Hall is a perimeter threat, but they won’t be asked to live there.
Wilkins shot 31.8% in high school and looks comfortable letting it fly in practice.
The overall picture points toward a team that can score. The three starting guards - McNeil, Edmead and Hammond - are all averaging 40% or better from three.
The three centers - Evans, Jurkovic and Hall - are combining for 62.1% shooting from the field. And the forward trio of Yalaho, Jurkovic and Wilkins is combining for 54% from the floor.
Somebody should be able to get a basket. Bart Torvik’s early numbers already have the Wolfpack at 118.5 in adjusted offensive efficiency, tied for 14th nationally and behind UVA, Duke and Louisville in the ACC.
UGA, Coach Goins’ former employer, sits almost exactly the same at 118.6 and 13th. Torvik also notes it’s still too early to lean too hard on the numbers.
From this angle, the Pack doesn’t look like a group that will generate much inside-out passing from the post.
Defensively, the early projection is less polished. Torvik has the Wolfpack at 100.1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, tied for 71st and 12th in the ACC.
The rebound numbers look respectable, Evans and Hall bring the shot blocking, and Wilkins was very good at steals in high school. The one stat that stands out in a less flattering way is Jurkovic’s foul rate, which comes in at 4.3 per 40 minutes.
The most important thing, though, is experience. Evans, Yalaho and Jurkovic each bring at least three years of it, and that trio should be the foundation from day one.
Jurkovic is expected to be able to play both the 4 and the 5, which gives the Pack its opening front court setup. The hope is that Hall and Wilkins develop quickly and become regular contributors.
Both are high-upside pieces. On a recent podcast, Rich (“Beard Gang”) Howell said he likes Hall a lot and thought he might start by the end of the season.
Just like the back court needs Adams and Keene, the front court needs Hall and Wilkins to become steady parts of the rotation. If that happens, this team could truly go 10 deep. That would be rare - and a sign of excellent recruiting from Coach Gainey.
In Other News...
Virginia Just Resolved A Major Week 1 Question For NC State
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For NC State, the matchup now has a clearer shape: a seasoned transfer under center, a mobile playmaker who has already logged meaningful snaps in two major programs, and a defense that will have to be ready from the first series. The rest of Virginias offense still has to come together, but the quarterback spot is no longer a mystery, and that alone changes how the Wolfpack can spend the next few months preparing. [Read more 🡒]
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The problem for anyone lining up against Louisville, including NC State, is that the schedule does not leave much time for a warmup. The Cardinals are being talked about as a nine-win team before the season even starts, and the early stretch includes a road trip to Raleigh plus a key matchup with SMU that could end up shaping the whole year. If Brohm has found another quarterback answer, the rest of the league may be dealing with a team that looks a lot more settled than it did a few months ago. [Read more 🡒]
Former NC State Guard Ends Summer League With Real NBA Momentum
Quadir Copeland spent the week in Las Vegas doing exactly what a player on the edge of the league needs to do: make himself impossible to ignore. The former NC State guard was one of Houstons more productive summer pieces, finishing with a strong all-around stretch that showed why the Rockets were willing to bring him in after he went undrafted in June and put him on a two-way contract.
Copeland saved his best for the semifinal, scoring a team-high 24 points in Houstons 101-90 loss to Memphis, and he did it while continuing to flash the kind of efficiency and activity that can carry over to camp. Over five games, he looked like more than a Summer League scorer, and now the question is whether that momentum can translate into the next phase of his climb toward a standard NBA deal. [Read more 🡒]