NC State Basketball
NC State is the Only Team in the Elite Eight with a Starting 5 of all Transfers
Kevin Keatts and the Transfer Portal were always destined for greatness. Back in the day, when he was at Hargrave Military Academy, he basically experienced roster turnover on an annual basis.
NC State is the only team in the Elite 8 that doesn’t have a single player in their Starting 5 that started at the school straight out of high school. All 5 starters are members of the Wolfpack via the Transfer Portal.
Casey Morsell transferred from Virginia, where he spent his first two years, and has been with the Wolfpack for the past three.
DJ Burns redshirted his first year at Tennessee, played the next three at Winthrop, and the final two at NC State.
DJ Horne played his first two years at Illinois St., the next two at Arizona St., and this season at NC State.
Michael O’Connell played for four years at Stanford, before transferring to NC State. O’Connell has another year of eligibility after this season.
Mohamed Diarra played his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, where he became the #1 JUCO player in the nation. After playing last season at Missouri, he landed in Raleigh this year. Diarra has one year of eligibility remaining after this season.
The 6th man off the bench, Jayden Taylor, spent his first two years at Butler before transferring to NC State this year. He has one year of eligibility remaining after this season.
Ben Middlebrooks, who is a part of the trio of Wolfpack post players, spent his first two seasons at Clemson, before making his way to Raleigh this year. He has one year of eligibility remaining after this season.
The only two players on NC State’s roster that they recruited out of high school are Juniors Breon Pass (Guard) and Ernest Ross (Forward), and Freshman Guard Dennis Parker Jr.
It’s a new world with the Transfer Portal, but Kevin Keatts has obviously adapted well.
According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.
Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.
Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024
Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.
Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.
Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.
As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.
Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
View this post on Instagram
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
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