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.
Wolfer96 ThatWiggaJigga I agree, Gottfried must set the standard that defense will be at the forefront. If he can get his team to buy into that end then we could be really good. I look at our roster and see a more talented group offensively than UVA fielded last season.
ThatWiggaJigga I agree with you on paper it looks like we are replacing 2 average to below average defenders with potentially better defensive players in Henderson and the twins. Also, Anya showed last season that he could be a shot blocking threat so if he comes in lighter and faster then there is no reason why he can’t be even better this next season. So we should be better overall defensively. However, seeing that Gott has yet to produce a team that plays solid defense for 40 minutes I will not hold my breath. Will Gott sit a player for… Read more »
As much as losing Lacey and Ralston hurts, I think it will be partially offset on the Defensive end. As good as Lacey and Ralston were, they were a little slow on Defense and lacked any ability to defend around the rim. With these 2 gone you will have a lineup of Cat at the 1, Terry at the 2 (Lets not forget he’s a Bob Huggins recruit, who loves defensive minded players), The Twins at the 3/4 as well as Anya, Abu, and Freeman in the paint. That should be a tough team to score on, especially if Anya… Read more »