Steere Wants To Add Physicality... And Win
NC State must replace all three contributors from last year's frontcourt, so adding talent was a major point of emphasis in the 2018 recruiting class. Fayetteville (NC) Northwood Temple standout Ian Steere joined the fold after committing early in the process to Creighton. That decision (to decommit from Creighton) was made after realizing he didn't want to go far away from him.
The Wolfpack landed a prospect with plenty of tools in Steere. At 6-foot-9 and 261 pounds, Steere is strong, physical, and extremely athletic. However, just being in tip-top shape isn't all that matters at NC State.
"I’m in the best shape of my life, but I’m not in Keatts shape yet," Steere said, laughing. "I’m getting there, but when the season rolls around I’ll be feeling better than I ever have."
What has Steere's first semester as a college freshman been like?
"It’s been good," he said. "I'm learning a lot and just trying to take it all in as fast as I can. I’ve got to be ready to play in a little bit so I’m just trying to take it all in."
What has helped with the transition has been having close friend Manny Bates also on the team. Steere and Bates played together at Northwood Temple and both picked the Wolfpack last fall. However, Bates is redshirting this season while recovering from shoulder surgery, and Steere admits he has had to be there for his friend.
"It’s hard, but we’re trying to motivate him," Steere said of Bates. "He’s going to be back better than ever; I believe that, he believes that, everybody believes that. He has a great mindset about it, that’s all that matters."
With Bates out the expectation is Steere, Wyatt Walker, and DJ Funderburk will handle the "five" minutes in NC State's system. All three are new additions; in fact, NC State returns just four contributors from last year's NCAA Tournament team.
Regardless, this group doesn't lack confidence, and Steere believes they will be able to gel and compete right away.
"I think we have the best roster we could possibly have," he said. "I believe we can win every game we play and that’s not just confidence, I believe that. We’re diverse and versatile. We can put a lot of lineups together. It’s going to be a great season."
One of the keys to the Wolfpack's success will be returning point guard Markell Johnson. The ACC's top assist man last year, Johnson has plenty of weapons around him including Steere, who should benefit from playing with Johnson in the pick-and-roll system.
"He’s great," Steere said of Johnson. "On the ball, off the ball. He’s a great leader. He motivates you to work hard and if you’re not working hard he’s going to tell you. He’s going to be a great point guard for us this year."
Steere attended a lot of games last year and has already participated in several workouts with the team. Has any player shown more than even he expected?
"I didn’t know how strong TD [Torin Dorn] is," he replied. "We were in the weight room, and he’s pushing weight I can’t even push. When I saw that it surprised me. I didn’t think he was that strong."
As for himself, Steere plans to keep his expectations reasonable and focus on one main goal: winning.
"I’m hoping to add physicality and doing whatever I can to help us win," he said. "Offense, defense, doesn’t matter, I’m just trying to help us win."
