New NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts added some depth to the Wolfpack’s backcourt Thursday with the signing of Braxton Beverly to a financial aid agreement. A 5-foot-11 point guard, Beverly is a Kentucky native who spent the past two seasons playing at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia. His late signing adds fuel to speculation that sophomore point guard Markell Johnson might not be available because of academic difficulty. Even if Johnson is eligible, Beverly provides State with another skilled ballhander who also has the ability to score. “Braxton can really stretch the floor with his shooting ability and is tremendous coming off ball screens,” Keatts said in a statement announcing Beverly’s signing. “He’s been at one of the premier prep schools in the country for the last two years, and will be an asset both on and off the floor for us here at NC State.” Beverly averaged 20.1 points, 6.4 assists and 2.2 steals per game in his first season at Hargrave while leading his team to the 2016 prep national championship with a 47-1 record. Last season, he led Hargrave’s postgraduate team to a 43-2 record. Along the way, he set a school record by scoring 70 points in a game. He went 14 for 20 from beyond the 3-point arc in the victory against Genesis Academy last February, adding six assists, four rebounds and four steals. Beverly is rated as a three-star prospect who began playing at the high school varsity level in his home state while only in the seventh grade. His 743 career assists at Perry county High in Hazard, Ky., rank sixth in Kentucky state history.He originally signed with Ohio State, but received his release when coach Thad Motta resigned in June. At State, Beverly will be reunited with his former coach at Hargrave, A.W. Hamilton, who is now a Wolfpack.
