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.
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.
T Henny was on fire. I would have just fed him all game. Abu sticking to his strengths… dunking. Anytime Abu does anything other than dunk it usually ends in a turnover. Where has Dorn’s game gone? He looks lost out there on offense and defense.
LOL T Henny started getting hot early. I like the way we came out. We need that every game. If we can get Kaptia and Y7 up to par and on the floor more with how we played last night oh boy… I’m not saying that Kapita does’nt foul but the refs give him some calls I want to see replays on. lol Abu keep playing physical down low and that mid range J consistent. Great job! #GETEMRIGHTGOTT!
Dorn will come along. We just got alot of weapons (which includes Dorn) and he will find his place and groove.
It’s the ACC’s agenda to wussify college basketball. A lot of Kapita’s fouls should just be no calls.
Yeah it seems to be a trend of him getting called for fouls that shouldnt be called. smh.. They dont want us to be GREAT!!! lol
Agreed, same with Yurtsy
I agree with everything you said except the Dorn comment. These guys are human after all. One game where he doesn’t score that much isn’t a reason to panic. We are blessed to have him on our team. And I disagree, I don’t think he looked lost. Abu for the first 12 games actually looked lost and confused, and he’s fine.
it’s crazy that there are only 2 NC State players to put up triple doubles.
I know its early but I’m like the way we are playing.. #GETEMRIGHTGOTT
That 1st half was the best this team has played all season
Should have taken Mav out and put in Dorn.
Mav played a hell of a game today
Mav did have a good game. I’m not knocking Mav. I just feel he comes in the game to early sometimes. What I liked last night is that we just didnt have him and T Henderson running the baseline from side to side all night hoping to get open.
I agree, I hate when Gott has his guys just running baseline to take turnaround 3 pointers. Even though Mav didn’t have a great shooting night from outside, he took it hard to the rim and even made some nifty passes.
Henderson is HOT! Why are we taking him out? I dont understand… I like the play..Lets keep it up guys!!
Playing at home definitely helps. This team has not performed well on the road and at neutral sites. I think the key will be Yurt7. He needs to bring more physicality than he did last game. It’s ACC time so man up.
Lets go Pack! Lets come out with intensity, play smart ball, Hard nose D and get this W!! It will be a good win… #GETEMRIGHTGOTT!!!
This is going to be a gut check for the Wolfpack. VT is going to go all out. Will the Pack be able to match the intensity? Will this team remain disciplined and run their sets or will it turn into another one on one fest?
I’ve always liked Buzz’s coaching style. Even when his teams were undersized he got the most out of them by utilizing team defense and rebounding.