NC State Basketball
Sacha Killeya-Jones Gives His Reason For Leaving NC State
On February 13th, Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts shared in a postgame press conference that Kentucky transfer Sacha Killeya-Jones, who was sitting out the year under transfer rules, was no longer on NC State’s roster.
Last night Killeya-Jones shared his reasons as to why.
Head Coach Kevin Keatts released a statement of his own.
So here’s the brass tacts.
Killeya-Jones already used 2 years of eligibility at Kentucky, where he averaged 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds as a Sophomore.
That’s not a recipe for leaving a program in the middle of your redshirt year to go pro. I don’t care whether or not you were a 5-star recruit a couple of years ago.
From what I’ve heard, Killeya-Jones didn’t leave the program on his own accord.
While I won’t get into the specifics of why (which I could), a program that is needing depth in the frontcourt, doesn’t dismiss a 6’11” former McDonald’s All-American unless that player was a detriment to the team and the program.
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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Brass tacks
Logic certainly tells us staying was not a choice. But let’s let him try to preserve a little dignity and hope he winds up on a good path.