NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.
Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.
Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.
Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.
The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross. Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.
With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.
Pickard for Pack Part of being a good coach is to have your recruits improve. Sitting on the bench with a team 5-12 in conference play is not inspiring at all. Rowan has the shooting ability but could have used another year in high school. He is not consistent and primarily plays well only at home. Kirk left his man because of the way State plays defense. They would be better off with everyone staying with their own man and forgetting about helping out in the middle. Why do you think the reason we give up so many open three’s… Read more »
You are something special…well delusional. Kirk left his man open 3 times while he was in for his 3 min. You focus on the one easy shot to win game, but leave off the 2 big 3’s Rowan hit! At this point in the losing season could Kirk get a few more minutes? Sure wouldn’t hurt. But for Freeman not Rowan! To complain about how bad you think Rowan is as a freshman is ridiculous! He’s one of the best freshman we’ve had in years….and should never be out for Kirk.
Pickard for Pack Rowan averages 33.4 minutes a game vs. 3.5 for Kirk. Rowan shoots .354 percent. That is the worst of all players with more than 3.6 minutes a game. Given Kirk the same chance at playing, he may have been able to hit some big shots. We will never know, because he probably will transfer. Maybe he will transfer to Kentucky to play with BAM BAM?
Pickard for Pack My grandmother could have made that shot after pushing the defender away. You, probably not.
@wolfpacker74.