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.
NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.
NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.
James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.
NC State Basketball
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Gott has done nothing but talk good about the program. He is fired. Let him finish the season with class Pack Fans. Don’t have to agree with his coaching … That being said…If we are pressing for Archie…why does fire happen during the season. Now Archie has to answer media ?’s while coaching a 21-5 Tourney Team. Dayton is going to through the vault at him. This parting of ways seems sloppy.
As long as the ppl involved can keep their lips sealed we can talk to coaches during the season without anyone knowing. It’s all about being discreet and letting those outside of the administration do the talking. We should stay away from coaching search firms as they have a horrible track record. Let friends of the program do informal querying of interest by the coaches on our list.
Congratulations- this is one of the best post I’ve seen in a while (not just talking about in this site – packpride, statefansnation, backingthepack, etc). Loved the videos – very informative.
Wish someone could really catch the ear of the one with the pocketbook at State and really open it up for Greg Marshall – or someone like that. Just seriously stop trying to find the bargain coach.
Now the a$$hole gives a $hit what the fans think. Why in the hell is he still coaching in Raleigh? Let’s not say he is fired, let’s say he is transferring.
Rejoice. Let’s celebrate. Can’t get any worse. Get rid of Smith and keep the rest. Get Y7 in shape. Fire all of the staff. Move on.
Basketball coaches aren’t the only people whose past performance has little bearing on the present. What Coach Gott did 2-4 years ago is only relavent as standard to compare his performance to today. His performance drop off has been rapid and dramatic. Any business person knows the price you pay in a performance based environment when this happens. It got Gott. I wish him future success.
The ACC in my opinion has always been the best conference. But with the addition of Louisville/Notre Dame/Syracuse/Pitt, the ascension of UVA/VT, and overall improvement by league teams… it’s going to require a coach of magnitude to compete in this league. A half-ass coach will no longer make it in this new ACC. I hope we get a real motivator and bball scholar. Someone with V like charisma.
Call me stupid but if you want a motivator and bball scholar, go get Bruce Pearl at Auburn. I watched him take a lack luster Tennessee all the way to number 1. Didn’t end well but it was fun living in the midst of it.
Yeah I think he’s a great coach but doesn’t seem to realize that he’s an old man and shouldn’t be partying with college kids. I prefer a little more mature coach.
Remember – State only dropped off the last 30 years due to an overreaction by shitty administrators. It had nothing to do with unc or duke or facilities or anything other than mismanagement of the program. No excuses, hire the right guy and get this program back to where it should be.
I agree Mark did some good things. He recruited at a high level and even had some tourney success. But we deserve even better. Too many ppl compare him to Les, Sendek, and Lowe. That is crazy. Those were some of the worst coaches in State history. We need to aim high and not be afraid to have high expectations.