Here is our VIDEO of NC State Wing Caleb Martin talking with the media today at Media Day. Quotes below.
On what it’s like to play with your twin brother…
“Just like it is off the court, we are around each other so much, we’re twins and we start acting alike…we think just alike. Just to have him on the court with me, or on the same team as me, I don’t think we do the same exact thing where if one of us is sulking, the other is sulking. We are more like twins that if one of us is down, the other one brings them back up. It’s good to have him with me, and I know he’s happy I’m with him…to bring each other back up and push each other…making sure we are on the same track, looking toward the same thing, trying to get better…stuff like that. It’s hard to come here and work by yourself. That’s why we have been hanging around the young kids like Maverick (Rowan) and Shaun (Kirk). They’ve been with us. They know we have had this whole year, and the experiences we have been through. We want to pass our experiences on to them.”
On what you have been working to improve upon this offseason…
“Scoring is definitely one of them. We all know that we had Trevor (Lacey) and Ralston (Turner) leave. We had a lot of our big scorers leave. That’s obviously one thing that has to be picked up by someone, or most of the people. It’s something we can do better at. Defense is one of the things I’ve been working on too. I don’t think I did that bad at defense last year. I think I actually did pretty good. There is always room to get better and try to get more stops. We have new people and we’re a young team right now. We need a lot of people to step up and fulfill those roles.”
On what word will come to people’s mind when they think of this team…
“I definitely think when they hear about NC State, one word they are probably going to think about is the word ENERGY. Pretty much the new guys, Maverick (Rowan) and Shaun (Kirk), like I told some of the guys before, they have been around Cody and me a lot. I feel like one thing we bring to this team is energy. When we get on the court we just like to go all out. Last year was more of a learning experience. We were behind people who could score. We were behind people that could get stops. What I wanted to do was go in there and bring energy. If we were down, and things weren’t going our way, I just felt like Cody and I could go in there and bring up the tempo. Everyday in practice, everyday in workouts, we’re all getting after it and we’re all going hard. We all push each other and make sure we are doing everything 100%. That’s one thing I definitely think this team is going to feed off of…that energy.”
The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8
NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.
Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.
In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.
As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).
1 year of Eligibility
Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
2 Years of Eligibility
Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)
NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.
Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.
In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.
