There are tons of players entering the transfer portal and coaches’ heads are spinning trying to keep up.
Kevin Keatts was on a Zoom call with Jaden Gardner last night, we posted that this morning, and a few hours later. Boom. A commitment. Only it wasn’t from Gardner, it was from Greg Gantt Jr, another big man in the portal.
Gantt Jr. is an interesting player, to say the least. The kid is 6’8, 220lbs from Fayetteville, NC. he was a 4-star prospect a couple of years ago, however, he never really got the opportunity at Providence and now he’s heading to NC State.
What’s interesting is that Gantt Jr. only averaged 4 points, 3 rebounds, and 1.7 assists last season in 21 minutes per game. He was known as a pretty good shooter in high school, but at Providence he never got it going. He shot 30% as a freshman and 22% this season from beyond the arc.
Gantt actually added some more muscle between his freshman and sophomore season, and he’s an intriguing prospect. He definitely fits within Keatts system and Keatts seems to see something in him that could help unlock his potential.
I wouldn’t look at the stats and jump to a conclusion here. State had a lot of options at the PF position and was able to sell a lot of minutes to whoever was coming in. The fact that he chose Gantt tells you something, and doubting Keatts eye for undiscovered talent would be a mistake. He’s the guy who got commits from Josh Hall (when he was a 3 star) and Jalen Lecque (when he was a 4 star), both skipped college and went straight to the pros. He also scooped up Shakeel Moore last year while no one was paying attention and got both Breon Pass and Terquavion Smith while they were 3 stars and hadn’t exploded yet.
Watching this kid’s highlights, you see that there is raw talent there. Keatts seems to think he can help Gantt get to the next level. Based on his track record, we’re going to believe him.
Last night, NC State improved to 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the ACC after defeating FSU 94-66 in PNC Arena. The Wolfpack are off to their best start under Kevin Keatts. Here are a few notes on last night, and the historic start for Kevin Keatts.
NC State snapped a 5-game losing streak to FSU.
This was the largest margin of victory (28 points) ever against the Seminoles, surpassing 25-point victories in 2001 and 1955.
This is NC State’s best record through 23 games (18-5) since 2005-06 (19-4).
This is the Wolfpack’s best ACC record through 12 games (8-4) since 2005-06 (8-4).
This is the first time NC State has scored 90+ points in an ACC game since December 7th, 2019 against Wake Forest (91-82).
Terquavion Smith scored 32 points, which was 1 point away from tying his career high of 33, which he scored against Coppin State in December.
The Wolfpack have won 7 of their last 8 games.
This is the best start Kevin Keatts has had at NC State through the first 23 games.
They started 16-7 his first two seasons.
This is also the Wolfpack’s best start in ACC play under Kevin Keatts through 12 games (8-4).
His best start prior to this year was 6-6.
NC State went 6-1 in January, which was the best record in the month of January since 1988-89 when the Wolfpack went 8-1.
The Wolfpack entered February with 17 wins, which is the most wins entering the month in program history.
NC State crushed FSU 94-66 tonight in PNC Arena, improving to 18-5 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. The Box Score is here. Check out the ACC Digital Network’s Highlight Reel and Condensed Game.
Looks interesting. He’s a sophomore so I guess he sits a year.
Don’t think any transfers have to sit out next year.
I was wondering the same. Is that really the case?