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.
I would rather we hire Bob Lutz over Keatts. There I said it.
There’s really only 1 guy that will bring the Pack back into dominance. That is Marshall. If our AD was smart she would play to Marshall’s ego. He already makes too much money and won’t see much more unless he goes NBA. So offer to match his salary and talk him into competing with the best in the ACC/Triangle and then becoming the big dog as his neighbors retire.
This is what happens when an AD bungles the previous search. She doesn’t want a repeat and then settles for a sure hire. I said all along I like Holtmann. Never been a fan of Archie. We should have been talking to Holtmann’s people all along. Keats has what… 1 year of HC experience at a mid-major level? Come on man.