I think it's safe to say it's been a difficult and sometimes bizarre few months for Mark Gottfried, but he is cleaning up late in the recruiting process and increasing the ceiling for his 2016-17 team in the process. On Monday, four-star point guard Markell Johnson announced his commitment to NC State.

Thanks To Everybody That Have Been On My Side Through This Process I Have Decided To Join The Pack ✍ pic.twitter.com/clshfGKMEQ — Markell Johnson (@kells_2017) June 20, 2016,

Johnson is a consensus top-60 player in the 2016 class. He has been working to reclassify from 2017 to 2016, and I suspect this announcement is a clear sign that's going to work out just fine.

This past year he averaged more than 31 points per game, while hitting 77% of his free throw attempts. Very talented player, and he can help immediately, but he'll be playing behind Dennis Smith for the majority of this upcoming season. He had to accept that in order to come here. And on that note I think we have Dennis Smith to thank for ultimately landing this commitment.

That's no slight to the coaching staff, it's just that DSJ put in the leg-work on this one. It's gonna pay off down the road.

We've got a roster that is pretty deep now, folks.