NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 18 state of North Carolina teams for 2021-22 season

6. Appalachian State

Head Coach Dustin Kerns inherited a program that had seen eight straight losing seasons. In his first year, 2019-20, the Mountaineers went 18-15. Last season they took the next step, going 17-12 and winning the Sun Belt Tournament—their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 22 seasons.

Over the summer, Kerns managed to retain super-seniors Justin Forrest (13.2 PPG) and Michael Almonacy (12.7 PPG), both of whom earned All-Sun Belt honors last season. Overall, the team brings back nine of their top 11 rotation players.

The Sun Belt has become an incredibly competitive mid-major league, but given last year’s success and their returning level of production, App State is one of the clear favorites to put together a serious run at back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances in 2021-22.

5. Wake Forest

Steve Forbes is building something at Wake Forest, but it will take some time considering what he was handed.

The Deacs lost seven players to the transfer portal this summer, including Ismael Massoud and Ody Oguama, but they were able to somewhat counter that by bringing four excellent transfers as well as four freshmen.

The transfers are highlighted by junior forward Jake LaRavia (12.3 PPG) from Indiana State as well as C Dallas Walton, G Alondes Williams, and C Khadim Sy from Colorado, Oklahoma, and Ole Miss, respectively.

Forbes’ first full incoming freshmen class at Wake includes three-star recruits Cameron Hildreth, Robert McCray, and Lucas Taylor as well as an intriguing versatile center prospect out of England in Matthew Marsh.

Forbes has transformed the team’s style into one that plays fast, forces turnovers, and shoots the three—all things we saw very little of from the Deacs under Danny Manning.

Winston-Salem will see high-level basketball again, but it feels like the team is still a year away from that reemergence as a competitor within the ACC.