NC State Basketball
DJ Burns Had a Word for Wolfpack Fans After Winning the ACC Championship
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!
Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.
This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.
For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.
247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.
Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.
With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.
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.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!
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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.
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NC State is High on Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill
NC State has Dominated UNC in Athletics in 2023-24
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State
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NC State lands combo guard DJ Horne from the portal
OK to be disappointed or frustrated. Its up to fans to decide how they want to deal with that frustration. Those repetitively campaigning for coaches head during the season, calling out players sayings stuff like they ‘should never play again’ told us more about them than any coach or player. Their lack of appreciation for how hard it all is, and oversimplification of the game, and simple lack of respect was on full display. And some even trolled others that showed respect in their comments and appreciate for the challenges that come with coaching NCSU basketball. It may be one… Read more »
I went back and looked at the record Valvano had at State. We made the tournament in most years and of course the 83 season occurred. However, his overall ACC record was 71-69. I was greatly surprised at that. KK is 63-68. Another surprise and not far from Valvano’s record. One really good year and he could surpass it since he now has his contract extension. I have shown my frustration and do own it. I would like to take back everything I have said about O’Connell since he has really picked up his game. He does look like he… Read more »
Cool. Like I said, complain or whatever but simply show some respect and appreciation. Don’t campaign against a coach (and by association the players who love him) during the season. Give KK some leeway as well. Jimmy V didn’t have a rebuilding job, he had key players when he took over. Jimmy V didn’t come in with and NCAA cloud over the program. Jimmy V didn’t have his top center AND starting fwd both go out for the season, amidst a rebuilding year coming off major Covid disruption, which kept us from having another NCAAT appearance at a key time… Read more »
Where was this desire to win during the regular season? Had you guys and coaches performed like you did in the last five games during the regular season, the stands would have been full all the time. What the team did during the ACCT was a miracle or seemed that way based on previous results. So fans were really frustrated and probably said a lot of things that deep down didn’t mean. Since I graduated in 1974, we have been and once were a basketball school. Since Valvano we have had fleeting success but basically long term frustration. DJ you… Read more »
I have noticed many of your comments and it seems you always hit a sour note. First of all don’t you think the players, coaches are all trying to win every game. I get frustrated too but remember the ACC is a difficult conference and that KK was building a new team with 7 new players and others who remained from last year. That isn’t an easy task…sometimes it takes a year or more(which coaches don’t have any longer). But DJ’s comments were NOT a lecture. It was as gracious a comment a player could make about fan support. He… Read more »
Actually, it was 8 new players counting Rice. Burns did not have to welcome me back as I have never left the players. If this generation can’t take a little criticism, then I feel sorry for them coping with life in the coming years. I too graduated in 74 and we streaked around campus that night. One miracle weekend makes the fan base even more hungry for success. So if it doesn’t come, don’t expect the older fans to be so sympathetic as our years are limited. I imagine prior to the start of the ACCT, you had thoughts that… Read more »