As you can see above, Reamer reported that Smits is planning on going through the Draft process, with the option to return to school (which is most likely).
Reamer reported yesterday that Smits has already visited Butler, and will be visiting Arizona State and NC State over the next 10 days, and will choose between those three schools.
Derrik Smits has visits planned in the next 10 days to Arizona State and NC State and has already visited Butler. He will decide between those three by April 28. @SmitsDerrik
Coming out of high school, Smits was a 3-star prospect, ranked as the #11 player in the state of Indiana. Smits chose Valparaiso over offers from Butler, Clemson, Xavier and Indiana.
Smits sat out his first season at Valpo due to injury, and then played the past three seasons.
He saw a big jump across the board last year, seeing career highs in games started (25), minutes played (21.7), field goal percentage (59.4%), rebounds (5.7), and points (12.2).
NC State can fill 1 more spot before next season, and a front-court player is the priority. Pat Andree (6’8″), Graduate Transfer out of Lehigh, is on campus in Raleigh for a visit this weekend.
Andree has the height of a big fella, but is also a three-point specialist (41%). Smits is your prototypical “big.”
Smits has NBA pedigree. You might remember his pops: Rik Smits.
His father played 12 seasons in the NBA, was an All-Star in 1997-98, and averaged 14.8 points and 6.1 rebounds per game.
Smits gets his height from his father, who stood 7’4′.
With one year of eligibility left, Smits has to decide if he’s willing to leave the state of Indiana. He has the option to stay in-state by going to Butler, or he can check out the West coast at Arizona State, or the East coast at NC State.
Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.
This confirms everything I’d been hearing about the return of Burns. Burns was the key to the Wolfpack offense running effectively this past year. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but he elevated his game in ACC play, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games.
Burns is celebrating his return to run with the Wolfpack by dropping his own Big 30 merch. Go over and snag something.
Miranda (7’1″/225) joined the Wolfpack back in December, deciding to forgo the remainder of his prep season. Miranda didn’t see the court for NC State, resulting in a redshirt season.
ON3 ranked Miranda as the #16 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.
It makes perfect sense for a player like Miranda, with his height and athleticism, to go through the draft process to be evaluated on what he needs to continue to work on. As an early entrant, Miranda has the ability to pull his name out of the draft and remain a collegiate athlete.
I don’t expect Miranda to keep his name in the hat when the time comes. From what I hear his game has tons of potential, but he still needs to fine tune his craft. Also, Miranda shared this on social media, implying he will be back in the Red and White next year.
NC State picked up their 5th transfer today. Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) committed to run with the Wolfpack today while in Raleigh on an Official Visit.
Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.
In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.
With news breaking today that Dusan Mahorcic entered the Transfer Portal, the Wolfpack found his replacement. NC State’s frontcourt in 2023-24 currently will be made up of D.J. Burns, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra and Ernest Ross.
Check out these highlights of Diarra.
🇫🇷 6-10 F Mohamed Diarra has committed to NC State
There is a lot to like in Diarra’s game. He is athletic, can hit a jump shot, put the ball on the floor, can play defense on the perimeter, block shots, and is an aggressive rebounder.
Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) is on an Official Visit to NC State today. Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.
In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.