What Can Wolfpack Nation Expect From Breon Pass

Last night, Breon Pass scored his 2,000th career point which is a special occasion in the pantheon of North Carolina public school history. Pass has had a storied career at Reidsville High School, there is no questioning that. On a personal note, Pass is a special young man, the type people flock to, a natural leader and a winner. While his past has been extraordinary, I wanted to take a look at his future.

This week Pass became the 47th player in NCHSAA history to surpass 2,000 career points as he passed the likes of Jerry Stackhouse and Reggie Bullock and is currently sitting at 2,069 (and counting). Scoring exploits are nothing new for Pass as he already sits at third all-time for points scored during a player’s sophomore season as he supplanted Scooter Sherrill and finished with 705 in the 2018-19 season.

However, Pass has been far from a one trick pony on the basketball floor. Take a look at his overall career stats. In 94 games played, he carries a 75-20 record along with 22 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3 steals per game while shooting a staggering 48.1% (223-463) from three. The 5’11” point guard is simply just an incredibly productive basketball player.

So, looking at these numbers, how does this translate from 2A Reidsville High School to the ACC. Well, there is no easy way to tell that prior to them getting thrown into the fire. When projecting a player from one level to the next, many times you can look at an in-exact formula consisting of a players mental makeup, their physical tools and their skill sets to get a glimpse into what they could be at the next level, but you never really truly know until they are there.

However, in looking toward where one is going there is no better place to start than looking at where the other is at.

There are currently three players on NC State’s roster who have played minutes at point guard this season and will be coming back next year, Cam Hayes, Shakeel Moore and Thomas Allen. Looking at the 2021 class NC State signed, Breon Pass, Terquavion Smith and Ernest Ross, Pass is the only one who is a point guard (Terquavion Smith, while being about 6’2” and 165 or so pounds, is a true shooting guard).

Looking at the NC State roster, they have three players who are currently listed as seniors. Now this season every player across the NCAA is able to opt in and come back for another year with no penalty. But, for the sake of this conversation, let’s say DJ Funderburk, Devon Daniels and Braxton Beverly all decide to move on with their careers, the three incoming freshmen will slide right into their roster spots. Now, at the current time, we cannot account for transfers (over 1,000 D1 transfers last season) so there could still be some players on the roster who could opt to go that route but for now, here we are.

So where can we start, let us see how this trio, currently on the roster, has fared this season.

In six starts and 19.4 minutes per game, freshman Cam Hayes is averaging 6.1 points, 1.9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers and 0.9 steals per game. He is shooting 39% from the field, 35% from three and 65% from the free throw line. Looking at his advanced statistics, he has a 12.5 PER, a 93.6 Offensive Rating, a 104.0 Defensive Rating and a 0.3 Box Plus/Minus.

In two starts and 18.4 minutes per game, freshman Shakeel Moore is averaging 7.2 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.6 turnovers and 1.5 steals per game. He is shooting 45.4% from the field, 34.8% from three and 47.1% from the free throw line. Looking at his advanced statistics, he has a 17.0 PER, 96.2 Offensive Rating, a 96.6 Defensive Rating and a 4.7 Box Plus/Minus.

In fifteen starts and 26.5 minutes per game, junior Thomas Allen is averaging 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.2 turnovers and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 38.8% from the field, 37.9% from three and 78.9% from free throw. Looking at his advanced stats, he has an 11.6 PER, a 101.5 Offensive Rating, a 103.9 Defensive Rating and a 2.6 Box Plus/Minus.

Having rattled off Pass’s career numbers previously, he clearly does some things that this NC State team needs from their point guard position. The shooting, rebounding and defense jump off the page immediately. But what Pass has, past these tangible stats, is the intangible X-factor items. We spoke about them prior, but the leadership, the work ethic, the drive, Pass is a high character young man (this is by no means saying anyone else is not, this is strictly speaking about Pass and Pass alone), one who has an inner drive to succeed.

So, what does all this mean, I will let you deduce from the numbers provided as only time will truly tell us. Every freshman will have to learn the plays on both ends of the floor, learn college time management, adjust to the speed of the game, adjust to the length and athleticism in the ACC and all the things that go along with becoming a good college player. But rest assured there is a clear path toward playing time and if the past tells us anything, Pass could be right there to take a hold of any opportunity.