Recruiting for 2016-17 is an obvious priority for NC State, but the year after that is crucial as well. NC State is looking ahead, and has been one of the teams to contact Sacred Heart sophomore transfer Cane Broome. Broome is the reigning NEC Player of the Year.

Sacred Heart transfer Cane Broome has heard from Cincinnati, Creighton, NC State, Providence and others. NEC Player of the Year. — Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) March 25, 2016

Broome will sit out this upcoming season, but will still have two years of eligibility remaining. He is a 6'0 guard who averaged 23.1 points per game this season.

The NC State staff has to plan under the assumption that Dennis Smith is a one-and-done player. That departure would/will leave a significant hole in the backcourt, and although Broome is not a pure point guard, his ability to score would help substantially to fill the void.

Broome made 53.5% of his twos this year--pretty impressive for a short guy--and shot 31.1% from three. That production came with a massive workload--he took nearly a third of the Sacred Heart's shots while he was on the floor. At a high-major program, where he would almost certainly carry a lighter load, it's a fair bet his outside shooting will improve.

Gottfried needs to absolutely nail the 2017 recruiting cycle, and I'm sure he's well aware of that. Broome would be a nice start.