For Bryce Heard, it comes down to family. 

That’s why the Homewood-Flossmoor hooper picked North Carolina State for his basketball and academic future. Heard announced the commitment with an emotional speech while surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches Wednesday, July 24, in the school’s newly-renovated gym. 

“The people behind me, they just helped me grow into the person I am today. They helped me stay focused, stay motivated, and I’m really thankful for them,” he said. “(NC State) just felt at home. That was the biggest thing, it was just a family feel, an at-home feel. I feel like it was a family out there.”

Heard picked the Wolfpack after announcing a final four that included USC, Mississippi State and Xavier. He also had scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, Georgia, Oklahoma State and Arkansas, among others. 

“This is what H-F is about. H-F is about getting our kids to the next level,” Vikings coach Jamere Dismukes said. “If we can continue to push and get our kids to the next level, I think winning is going to become second nature. This isn’t about me. This isn’t about Homewood-Flossmoor. This is about Bryce.”

247Sports, On3 and Rivals each list Heard as a 4-Star prospect. 247sports and On3 both rank him the No. 2 player in Illinois in the class of 2025. He averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior for the state-champion Vikings.

Heard took his official visit to Raleigh on June 23.

“I think the play style (at NC State) fits,” he said. “I’ve got an opportunity to go out there and play early, to play this year, and I think that’s the best thing for me and my family.”

Heard also announced that he reclassified from the class of 2025 to the class of 2024. He signed his letter of intent and will enroll at NC State in a few weeks. He’ll forgo his senior year at H-F. 

Reclassification has become a trend with some of the nation’s top athletes. The aim is to accelerate their development. Dismukes said he told Heard he’ll be better with a year of major college coaching and training than he would be if he stayed home.

“It’s not everyday when a kid has a chance to class up and join an ACC team that made a good run in the NCAA tournament. It’s a big-time opportunity and experience for him,” Dismukes said. “Obviously we’re going to miss him, but there wasn’t much more for him to accomplish in high school.” 

The decision to reclassify came on quickly, Heard said. It wasn’t something he considered during the last school year. Dismukes said H-F administrators helped him put together a schedule of classes to graduate early.

Heard spent only one season at Homewood-Flossmoor, transferring in from Kenwood Academy. He said it was vital to his development as a person and a player. 

“I came back and was able to play on a great team with great players and go out and win a state championship,” Heard said. “I grew relationships with a lot of people I never thought I would’ve had in my life.”