Wes Moore Discusses Roster Building, Player Retention, Recruiting, and More
NC State head coach Wes Moore met with the media to discuss roster construction, the incoming freshmen, player retention, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the press conference.
Last summer you mentioned you may not have been as good of a GM as you thought you would be. What did you learn from that experience that helped you this offseason? How would you evaluate the improvements you made to the roster?
I tried to approach it a little differently. Again, you've got to make choices. You've got to make the budget work and be able to put the best roster together that you can.
Probably the biggest thing I've learned is that, at some point when you're dealing with players, parents, agents and attorneys, you've just got to say, "Hey, this is what I've got." Hopefully it's enough and they'll join the Pack, but it is what it is.
I think that approach saves a lot of time. You're able to make decisions quicker and, if need be, move on to the next option. Otherwise, you can drag it out forever.
We've tried this year to get the money discussion out of the way early so you're not wasting time bringing people in if it's just not going to be a financial fit. You always want prospects to see the campus, the facilities, the culture and academics because you think you can win them over, but there's a fine line. You don't want to waste time and money bringing people in when it's not going to work financially.
How important was it to retain Zoe Brooks and Khamil Pierre as the foundation of this team?
First of all, I'm appreciative of what Boo Corrigan, Stephanie Mignot, Maddie Smith and others have done to help us financially.
But I'll say this about Zoe and Khamil—they wanted to be here. They could have made more money by entering the portal. I don't think there's any doubt about that.
Sometimes we get caught up talking about loyalty or players chasing money, and I understand both sides. If somebody offers you a lot more money, I get it. But we also need to appreciate players like Zoe, who's been here four years and could have made more elsewhere.
Khamil was the same way. Those are two All-ACC players who wanted to stay at NC State.
I also think our fans deserve credit. We sell out our ACC and Power Four games, and that environment makes our players feel special. There are a lot of factors involved.
Zoe, Khamil, Maddie Cox and several others all chose to return when they could have tested the waters. That's something we should appreciate.
Where can Zoe and Khamil improve this season?
Zoe really grew into a leadership role as last season went on, and that's going to benefit us moving forward.
Obviously, losing her in the first round of the NCAA Tournament was a big blow.
I think Zoe can shoot the three better than she did last year. She didn't have her best season from three. Maybe she started slow and her confidence wavered a little, but I see her every day. She's capable of being a great three-point shooter.
Khamil needs to be more consistent with her motor and energy. She's shown tremendous improvement this summer with her work ethic, coachability and body language.
We're counting on her, Zoe and Maddie to be leaders. The best way to lead is by example, and Camille has really embraced that.
They're both tremendous people who are helping build our chemistry and culture. They've been a huge part of what we've done this summer, and I think it goes a long way when you enjoy playing with and respect your teammates.
How does Khamil’s role change with Tilda Trygger no longer in the frontcourt?
We're going to have to play differently.
We're fortunate to add Khady from an SEC program. She's a tremendous athlete who runs the floor, gets to the rim and attacks the boards.
We don't really have a true traditional post player. Khady and Khamil are both going to play fast. We'll post them some, but they do a great job using their quickness.
We're also working on Khamil’s three-point shot, and Hoddy is working on hers as well. We'd love for both of them to become threats from beyond the arc.
Because of their quickness and explosiveness, I think that will really help us. Overall, we're going to have to play faster because we don't have the length we've had in the past.
How does the new five-for-five rule affect your recruiting strategy, particularly with high school players?
That's a great question.
All of us coaches have talked about the uncertainty. We don't know exactly how many of our current players will come back because so many are eligible for another year.
Most of our roster could return. Some may go pro, some will graduate and then have to decide whether they want to use that extra year.
How do you plan for that? How many freshmen do you sign?
It also creates another portal class.
I've always loved recruiting freshmen and watching them develop, but now you have to ask yourself whether they're willing to wait their turn. At the same time, we're trying to win now.
Next year, are you better off with a true freshman or a player who already has four years of college experience? That's a difficult decision.
We'll probably continue to leave ourselves some flexibility with scholarships. If there's a great high school player, you take them. If it's more of a borderline player, you may decide to wait and see what's available in the portal.
The downside is portal players cost more money, so that's another part of building a roster within your budget.
What have you seen from freshmen Kimora and Ansley since they arrived on campus?
Kimora, or KP as we call her, was a top-35 player nationally coming out of Texas.
She can really shoot the three, has great size and gives us flexibility. She can play on the wing or even guard forwards if we go with four guards.
Like most freshmen, conditioning has been an adjustment, but she's made tremendous strides already.
Ansley has also shot the ball extremely well. She's more of a forward/post player who's undersized but very strong, physical and blue-collar. She's improved tremendously with conditioning.
I think both will have opportunities to contribute, but a lot depends on what happens over the next three months before the season begins.
I've always believed you need freshmen on your roster. They bring energy and they're constantly learning, which helps reinforce your culture.
What can you tell us about international freshman Faye Boer and the process of bringing her to NC State?
Right now we're just trying to get her here.
The visa process takes longer than it used to, but she has an appointment scheduled in early August. Hopefully everything goes well and she's able to arrive in time for school.
She's from Nigeria but played high school basketball in Japan.
Honestly, we're still not exactly sure how tall she is. Hopefully she's taller than everybody else we've got.
We've watched plenty of film. That's sometimes difficult because she's playing against high school competition, but we like her presence and we're excited to get her on campus.
Despite falling short of your expectations last season, fans have once again sold out season tickets. What does that loyalty mean to you?
That's something I really appreciate.
Over the last five or six years we've won three ACC Tournament championships, two ACC regular-season titles, made a Final Four and an Elite Eight.
My expectations are extremely high. We finished fourth in an 18-team ACC, and while a lot of programs would be thrilled with that, we're not satisfied because we've raised the standard.
The portal and NIL have made it harder, but if I ever felt like we couldn't compete anymore, I'd probably spend more time working on my golf game.
Our fans have been incredibly loyal. Even after a season that disappointed us, they renewed their tickets and people are still waiting to get tickets.
That support matters. Our players feel it, whether it's in Reynolds Coliseum, on campus or around Raleigh.
It all helps build loyalty within the program, but we're still striving to win championships.
Your players have become increasingly involved in the community. How important is that to your program?
I love seeing it.
Khamil recently organized a community service project on her own, and that's not something you always see.
Our players have been doing a lot together this summer, whether it's traveling to Charlotte, Greensboro, supporting Kayla Jones, or attending events for members of our fan base.
I've always told recruits I want the whole package.
I want them to be great players, great students, great on campus and great in the community.
I think, for the most part, this team is really embracing that.
What stood out about Desiree Wooten when recruiting her out of the transfer portal, and what have you seen since she's arrived?
We felt like we needed another guard who could score and handle the ball.
It's kind of unusual because she didn't start at her previous school in the Big 12, but she still led the team in scoring, had a great assist-to-turnover ratio and came up with a lot of steals.
She just fills up the stat sheet.
I also think she loves the game and wants to be great. She wants to play professionally someday.
She checked a lot of boxes for us.
She shot 35% from three, which is solid, and we're excited to have her.
She's another player who probably could have made more money somewhere else, but she wanted to be here.
I also think seeing Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James reach the WNBA helps us with guards. They know this is a place where they can develop, improve and hopefully reach the next level.
How much of a priority was player retention when building this year's roster?
It was a huge priority.
We don't have an unlimited budget, so we have to make choices and hope we make the right ones.
Zoe and Khamil especially could have taken up a huge portion of our budget if we'd simply matched whatever they could have gotten elsewhere.
Even my staff gets frustrated with me sometimes because I have to make decisions based on what we can afford while still building a complete roster.
Trying to keep our core together while staying within our budget was one of the biggest challenges of this offseason, and it's a big part of continuing to chase championships.
