NC State basketball in a better place as Terquavion Smith, Jarkel Joiner say goodbyes

For so much of Friday afternoon, N.C. State had no answer for Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner, but there was one glorious moment where Terquavion Smith drove straight at Kalkbrenner — for the umpteenth time — and got a step on the 7-footer.

Kalkbrenner could only shuffle his feet and reach into the air as Smith flew past and threw down an angry, left-handed dunk, landing on both feet facing the N.C. State fans.

And later, after the tears and before the realization that it was really over set in, Smith would admit that in that moment, as he screamed at the N.C. State fans and flexed, that the Wolfpack had turned the corner. They were still down three, but clearly not for long.

“Yeah, I kind of felt that way,” Smith said.

The feeling didn’t last. Not long after, Smith walked off the court for the last time in an N.C. State uniform, the Wolfpack unable to keep up with Creighton down the stretch after taking a seven-point lead early in the second half, falling 72-63 to the sixth-seeded Bluejays. Smith had his jersey pulled over his head, Isaiah Miranda’s arm around him.

But there was that one moment when it seemed like victory was at hand, and to experience that feeling — the feeling of endless possibility, even if only so fleeting — was why Smith came back for his sophomore year. It was why Jarkel Joiner transferred to N.C. State. And even Friday’s loss represented the realization of an unlikely turnaround, an improbable quest to return to relevance.

As Smith exits for the NBA, he may not be one of the greatest players in N.C. State history, but he was one of the most exciting and unpredictable and dynamic. And he and Joiner together were certainly one of the best backcourts the Wolfpack has ever had, even if only for a single season.

“I have an elite sophomore who was an elite freshman who decided to come back to school. Didn’t have to,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “I wanted to bring an older guy beside him to be able to help him get where he needed to be. I am proud — we did some really great things this year. Maybe one of the best turnarounds in college basketball, and it’s because of the people around me and the staff that I put together, and everybody’s hard work and everybody’s commitment to get us to where we needed to be.”

They came back for this, to have a chance to play for the highest of stakes at a school that hadn’t done that in four years, and they came within sight of moving on to the next round. Smith lost 21 games as a freshman and, with Joiner at his side, won 23 as a sophomore. One loss doesn’t change how far the Wolfpack came.

“We didn’t take the opportunity for granted,” Smith said. “We wanted it. We just came up short.”

Joiner struggled to find his shot Friday, with 13 points on 6-for-18 shooting, but Smith was nearly unstoppable — two short of his career-high with 32, driving at Kalkbrenner over and over again, and all that after picking up two fouls in the first 105 seconds. He sat for less than five minutes, pleading his case to Keatts, and had only one foul the rest of the way.

Smith never could have managed that a year ago. His growth this season, thanks to his own commitment and Joiner’s mentorship, was striking. Of all the players on the floor Friday, he was clearly the one headed to the NBA, and he played like his career was on the line.

In the quiet locker room, as Joiner sat with a towel over his head and D.J. Burns — a nonfactor with two points and four fouls — said he had yet to make his mind up whether to return, N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan embraced Smith and spoke into his ear. Corrigan’s message was simple: “Thank you.”

He and Joiner leave a different program behind than the one they agreed to rehabilitate. On Thursday, directly under the banner honoring David Thompson’s career with the Denver Nuggets, Keatts walked on the court in an otherwise empty building, face-timing recruits, making calls he hasn’t had a chance to make since 2018. He took all of this head-on, retooling his entire staff, embracing the humbling last season delivered, and N.C. State will continue to reap the rewards long after Smith and Joiner are gone.

They played their last games for N.C. State on Friday, and they lost, but they left the Wolfpack better than they found it. The end arrived, as it always does, but they helped create a new beginning.

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