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.
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.
Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. 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 #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.
What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.
It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!
2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.
NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.
Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.
The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.
Kirk will not solve any issues the Pack is having when facing good defensive teams. The problem is defensive and offensive schemes! Gottfried has recruited the worst bigs to run the high low offense. Anya, Freeman and Abu lack the skill set to be consistent threats. They all have horrible basketball IQ and they lack passing skills and can’t shoot. They all make so many dumb mistakes it makes Cats job impossible. Who does this reflect on? Gottfried!!!!! He let the wrong player leave with K wash rather than freeman or Anya this team would be in the top 5… Read more »
Every player that plays the game of basketball has their strengths and has their weaknesses. Rowan can’t play really good defense. Kirk is actually a really good defender when he got playing time. Rowan has a better offensive game than defense. He can shoot the ball lights out on any given night. Sure he had a bad night against UNC but he is capable of it. Kirk on offense is more of a cut to the basket type of player. Kind of like what Mark Gottfried would draw up for TJ Warren when he was playing for the pack. So… Read more »
No he did not….but every time he has been in the game he’s turned it over more than he’s scored. There is a reason Rowan got the starting spot and a reason Kirk sits. We only got Kirk hoping it would bring Dennis and Bam…same reason Kentucky went after him last minute. He was never going to play this year
Pickard for Pack Kirk didn’t go 2-12 last night with two rebs and 4 fouls, did he? Give him a chance. Rowan shoots .350 and .332 for threes. We don’t need many of these guys to be below average in the ACC.
You are an idiot if you think Kirk is better than Rowan….as an 18 year old freshman he gets 13 per game and could easily get 20 on any given night. His defense needs to improve, but Kirk hasn’t shown he can play D either?? Rowan is 18 guarding 20,21,and even older guys…you loose all credibility with stupid comments like this one?!
Another one bites the dust. Please play Kirk over Rowan. Rowan sucks most of the time and can’t play a lick of defense. He and Nard should have stayed in high school another year. There is help for Rowan. Get his ass in shape and make him hustle. Nard is hopeless.