Roster Building: A Closer Look at the Front Court

[ASFN Admin]

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Kyle Evans says, “Nope!” | Credit: NC State Men’s Basketball

Comparing the Five Big Men

Here’s what’s wrong with trying to compare them, in addition to the fact that none of them played; a) in a P4 conference last season, b) with these teammates, or c), in Coach Gainey’s system:

1. Evans – Four years in D1 mid-major ball (2 MtnW conference, 2 BW), starter, played drop coverage for his career – not expected to play that style much this season. (*) His stats come with a mid-major level of competition asterisk.
2. Yalaho – Three years experience, two in the B12, last season in the WCC, starter. (*) His ‘25-‘26 stats come with a mid-major level of competition asterisk, but he did play at Texas Tech two seasons.
3. Jurkovic – Role player in international ball. Three seasons experience, 24 years old. We’ve been told his league’s level of competition was high quality. (*) His stats come with a international level of competition asterisk.
4. Hall – 1 full season & one partial season JUCO, starting center. (*) His stats come with a JUCO level of competition asterisk.
5. Wilkins – No D1 game experience, but the word coming out of practice last season was that we should expect to like what we see this season. (*) His stats come with a high school level of competition asterisk.

We don’t have the necessary baseline to accurately compare one to another. But we can look at their strengths and weaknesses – while keeping in mind that Evans and Yalaho will probably look similar to their film, but the other three might look better.

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Good Size

We don’t have the official measurements yet, but this team will end up being slightly taller than last season’s Wolfpack. If Jurkovic is 6’9” (some say 6’10”) the team average is 78”. KenPom has last year’s team at 77.9” ranked 95th. And last season’s team got little contribution from many of the bigger guys, like Deng, Wilkins, Ebube and Langdon. This season’s back court is a little smaller (6’3.8” vs 6’4.3” last season), the front court is a little taller (6’9.4” vs 6’8.5” last season). (Caveat: Official heights subject to change)

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Rebounding

We’ve been told in preseason write-ups that Evans won’t play as close to the basket on defense this season as last, which (if true) could impact his defensive rebounding. But with his height and athleticism, he’s going to be our leading rebounder.

Jurkovic’s numbers don’t look that great in the table but spread over 40 minutes he and Yalaho are comparable 8.x rebounds per game guys.

Looking at Shah Hall’s number, 7.8 rebounds in 15.6 minutes looks ridiculous, but the minutes aren’t accurate. The school didn’t record minutes in some of his games. (JUCO stat guy!) However, he had 8 games with double-digit rebounds and another three with 9. He’s got the height, athleticism, and the frame to be a strong rebounder in the ACC. But he’ll have to prove it, and that could take time.

Blocks

Evans was the #1 shot blocker in the country. He led the nation in total blocked shots with 115 and blocks per game (3.29).

Jurkovic only had 9 blocks last season.

Hall was pretty good at it with 65 blocks last season. He blocked at least one shot in 25 of 30 games and had 12 games with 3 or more.

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Shooting

Jurkovic is an outstanding shooter. At the arc he shoots 41.9%, and from 2PT 75%. If you get him the ball, it’s going up. He’s not going to pass it. That’s a good thing.

Yalaho balances his game well with 54.2% of his shots coming from the arc at just below 40%, and when he goes inside, he is an excellent free throw shooter at 79.7%.

Evans and Hall are players relying on assists or rebounds for most of their shots. But both deliver once they get it, shooting 63.5% and 65.1% respectively. And Evans is another outstanding free throw shooter.

Evans and Hall are not threats from range, but we don’t expect them to have many opportunities. Wilkins shot 31.8% in high school and looks comfortable shooting it in practice.

What to expect?

This team should light up the scoreboard. With the three starting guards (McNeil, Edmead, Hammond) averaging 40%+ from 3PT, the three guys sharing center (Evans, Jurkovic, Hall) together averaging 62.1 FG%, and the three guys dominating the forward minutes (Yalaho, Jurkovic, Wilkins) together averaging 54 FG%, somebody should be able to get a basket. (famous last words) With nothing but their transfer stats to work with, Bart Torvik already rates the Wolfpack at an adjusted offensive efficiency of 118.5 tied for 14th – behind UVA, Duke and Louisville in the ACC. (interestingly, Coach Goins’ former employer, UGA, is about the same – 13th at 118.6) (Note: even Bart admits it’s too early to rely much on his numbers) From this perspective, it does not appear that the Pack is going to get much inside out passing from the post.

Defensively, not surprisingly, Torvik rates the Pack 100.1 in adjusted defensive efficiency, tied for 71st – 12th in the ACC. Hopefully, by the time ACC play starts these guys will know how to play defense. The defensive rebounding numbers look decent, as noted above Evans and Hall are the shot blockers, and Wilkins was very good at steals (* HS stats). The one mildly concerning notable stat is Jurkovic leads the group in collecting fouls, averaging 4.3 per 40 min.

Most importantly, we have three big men (Evans, Yalaho, Jurkovic) with three years or more of experience each. They will be the core. We’ve been told that Jurkovic can play the 4 or the 5. That is your front court day one. Ideally, Hall and Wilkins come on quickly and contribute regularly. Both are high potential. In a recent podcast, Rich (“Beard Gang”) Howell said he likes Hall a lot and said he thought he might start by the end of the season.

Like the back court needs Adams and Keene, the front court needs Hall and Wilkins to be consistent contributors. In the unlikely event that it actually works out that way, this team could be legitimately 10 players deep. That would be a rare occurrence and a tribute to Coach Gainey’s excellent recruiting.

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