For the past week or so the Dail Center has been closed because they are redoing the floor just in time for the new season to start. However, this has left many players looking for a basket during this time. If anyone was out at the Carmichael student recreation facility this past week, you could have seen first hand some former Pack players, as well as Terry Henderson. This past week Scott Wood and I were looking to workout. He is preparing to head back to Spain, and we had to turn to Carmichael in order to get some work in. As we were working out and getting shots up, TJ Warren and Terry Henderson arrived to workout as well.
After getting some skill work and shots up some students wanted us to run some pick up games. The boys couldn’t turn down a little up-and-down action. I myself was lucky enough to run with them and can say that it was easy racking up assists as I had Scott Wood (all-time leader in made three’s in NC State history), TJ Warren (arguable one of the best pure scorers in State history) and Terry Henderson on my team. Spoiler alert: Terry will make a huge impact this season. It was a blast playing with these guys and seeing them interact with students.
I expect that TJ Warren will have a big-time coming out party for the Suns, as they seem to be trading guys in order to give him more floor time. Scott is gearing up to play his third season for Murcia this upcoming season. He re-signed his contract and is excited about the hiring of Fotsis Katsikaris who hails from Greece and was on the bench for the Greek national team. As for Terry, I was extremely impressed with his skill set and athleticism. Henderson has a great grasp of the game and uses that to put himself into positions where he can capitalize on his athletic ability. A lot of players have elite athleticism, but do not have the required skills to take full advantage. Terry should not have this problem.
There is a reason why these players are so good, and that is because they love the game. I was impressed in my senior year at how much TJ (then a freshman) practiced. He literally lived in the gym. Even now that he has made it to the NBA he is not satisfied and wants to get better. This is why he will have a long NBA career. Scott is the same way, he doesn’t care about accolades, he is only concerned with winning. He is the ultimate team guy. Even though I only played with Terry a couple of times I got the same vibe from him. He wants to win and compete! Everything else is secondary. Basketball never stops for guys like this and that is the secret to their success.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.
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.
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.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.
Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.
Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.
Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.
After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.
ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.
With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.
NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.