Mejia Joins Three Others at NC State

As Jay Gomes of our affiliate NJ Hoops and Scott Vogelsberg of our affiliate The Wolfpacker reported on Friday, Eastern High School's Dominic Mejia announced at a press conference at the Colliseum in Voorhees, New Jersey, that he's headed to Herb Sendek's North Carolina State.

Mejia had verbally committed to Rutgers this past fall but did not sign a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period. He told our reporter Russ Blake last month:

""The thing about Rutgers is it's a great college and it's close to home and everything. I was leaning towards Rutgers before the season started, and towards the end North Carolina [State] started to get in the mix. That being the ACC and all, and Rutgers being in the Big East, the ACC is top competition. I'm looking to play against the top competition."Other schools who offered scholarships to Mejia included Marquette, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Hartford, Virginia Tech and Drexel.

Mejia averaged 23 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.5 steals during his senior campaign, earning first-team all-state honors from the Associated Press. He was also named a second-team all-area performer by the Philadelphia Inquirer and South Jersey Player of the Year. Mejia recently played in the Carino All-Star game, winning MVP honors and scoring a game-high 21 points. He also led his squad to a 23-4 record and the South Jersey Group IV Championship game.

On Friday, NC State announced all of the signings for the 2002-03 season. The other signees are:

Justin Flatt a 6-4 guard from Savannah, TN, who averaged 27.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.9 steals at Hardin County High School this past season.

Cameron Bennerman, a 6-4 guard/forward who prepped at Hargrave Military Academy this year after competing for three seasons at Grimsley High School in Greensboro, NC. Brennerman posted 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists per game this season at Hargrave.

Adam Simons, a 7-0 center from Williams High School in Burlington, NC. Simons averaged 19.4 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots per game as he led his team to a 21-7 record. He was named all-conference, all-area and all-region.Interestingly, Bennerman and Simons signed with the ACC school in the fall; however the Wolfpack did not announce their decisions until this past Friday.

Last month, reserve redshirt freshman Michael Bell, a 6-9 forward from Raleigh, NC, announced he would leave the Wildcats program. But Sendek can look forward to the return of Levi Watkins, the 6-7 forward from Rockville, MD, who suffered a season-ending injury (ACL) in the December 30th ACC opener against future NCAA champion Maryland. Watkins played in 13 of the Wildcats 34 games (38.2%) and therefore is unlikely to receive a medical redshirt for his shortened freshman year. (The general limit for this provision is 20% of a team's games.)

Things are looking up for Sendek who in previous years was one of the coaches who was subject to criticism for not living up to fans' expectations. Last season's 23-11 record, 9-7 in the ACC, runnerup to Duke for the ACC Tournament Title and two-rounds in the NCAA tourney competition should provide the Pittsburgh, PA, native with some breathing room. Of course, those of us who follow the travails of college coaches know only too well that fans can (and more than often will) change their minds if a team's fortunes seem to slide.