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.
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I would rather we hire Bob Lutz over Keatts. There I said it.
There’s really only 1 guy that will bring the Pack back into dominance. That is Marshall. If our AD was smart she would play to Marshall’s ego. He already makes too much money and won’t see much more unless he goes NBA. So offer to match his salary and talk him into competing with the best in the ACC/Triangle and then becoming the big dog as his neighbors retire.
This is what happens when an AD bungles the previous search. She doesn’t want a repeat and then settles for a sure hire. I said all along I like Holtmann. Never been a fan of Archie. We should have been talking to Holtmann’s people all along. Keats has what… 1 year of HC experience at a mid-major level? Come on man.