NC State basketball’s Jarkel Joiner wins 2023 Tudor Award for media cooperation
Jarkel Joiner’s first two basketball stops didn’t prepare him for one aspect of the ACC. Cal State-Bakersfield wasn’t exactly in the harsh glare of the national spotlight, and playing basketball at Mississippi wasn’t exactly the same as playing football.
When he got to N.C. State this season, he found himself not only becoming a leader for the Wolfpack, but a public spokesman for a young team enjoying newfound success — and thriving in both roles.
“Playing in the ACC is big-time basketball,” Joiner said. “Transferring here, there’s a lot of media at N.C. State.”
Joiner took to the role and is this year’s winner of the Caulton Tudor Award, which recognizes the Triangle basketball player who is most cooperative with the local media in honor of the late News & Observer sports columnist.
Joiner joins former N.C. State men’s players Ralston Turner (2015) and Torin Dorn (2019) as a winner of the award, which is selected by the N&O staff with input from other Triangle media representatives and presented by Tobacco Road Sports Cafe. North Carolina’s Armando Bacot was last year’s winner.
Joiner is the first transfer and first one-year player to win the award, which speaks to how quickly he adapted to his new school and new media environment. Then again, he’s certainly experienced in the ways of college basketball. His next college game will be his 140th.
And if he seems older and wiser than some of his peers, he is: By the time his Wolfpack career ends, whenever that may be, he’ll only be a few months short of his 24th birthday. In January, he became the father of a son, Jarkel Jr.
He started his career at Bakersfield before transferring to Mississippi to play in his hometown of Oxford. After two seasons in the SEC, he was part of N.C. State’s rebuilding on the fly over the summer, filling a void at point guard and — later — becoming a mentor for sophomore scoring prodigy Terquavion Smith.
“That kid’s personality is so infectious,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said. “He’s just a nice person. You can’t find a person who doesn’t like Jarkel Joiner. Even when he’s having a bad day, he can find a way to make everybody smile.”
CAULTON TUDOR AWARD WINNERS
2015 Ralston Turner, N.C. State
2016 Marcus Paige, UNC
2017 Matt Jones, Duke
2018 Theo Pinson, UNC
2019 Torin Dorn, N.C. State
2020 Jack White, Duke
2021 Elissa Cunane, N.C. State
2022 Armando Bacot, UNC
2023 Jarkel Joiner, N.C. State
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