Four-star senior
T.J. Warren of
Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) delivered a verbal commitment Wednesday to North Carolina State, giving new Wolfpack head coach Mark Gottfried his third Class of 2012 Top 100 prospect.
"I've had him since he was 11 years old and I'm pretty proud of him today," said Dwayne West, Warren's club coach with the Garner Road Bulldogs. "T.J. Warren is legit, 100 percent. He is by far the No. 1 player from North Carolina in the 2012 class and one of the top players in the country."
T.J. Warren
Photo by Steven Worthy
Warren is ranked No. 32 in the MaxPreps Class of 2012 Top 100. His stock shot up after a breakout performance at Dave Telep's Carolina Challenge last March. The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward picked NC State over co-finalist Georgetown and also generated interest from programs like Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio State.
"He's going to go in and give them some scoring punch," West said. "He's a lot taller and longer than people give him credit for. He's solidly 6-8 with long arms, very quick and very strong."
Brewster Academy is Warren's third school in as many years after stints at
Riverside (Durham, N.C.) and
Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.). He averaged 14 points per game on a loaded Word of God squad that finished 24-3 and also featured Bishop Daniels (Miami freshman),
Torian Graham (now at Arlington Country Day in Florida),
Josh Newkirk and Joseph Uchebo (now a top junior college prospect Chipola College).
Gottfried hasn't strayed far from campus in building an impressive 2012 recruiting class. In addition to Warren, North Carolina State has pledges from point guards
Rodney Purvis of
Upper Room Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.) and
Tyler Lewis of
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), who is originally from Statesville, N.C.
Warren will be continuing a family legacy at the Atlantic Coast Conference school. His father, Tony, played for the Pack from 1976-1979 and was a drafted by the Chicago Bulls.
Brewster Academy teammate
Mitch McGary, a 6-10 post player ranked No. 2 overall in the 2012 class, is set to make a decision Thursday. McGary is expected to decide between Duke, Florida and Michigan.
