If you’re busy today, then go ahead and skip this article, because really it has nothing to do with anything important. I just found it amusing for a multitude of reasons.
Here is John Johnston of SB Nation’s Nebraska site ‘Corn Nation’ giving an instant reaction to last night’s game.
For one, this is exactly the type of guy I’d envision covering Nebraska basketball. Some animated 50-year-old guy, rocking a Disney hat, fully grey from years of stressing over an up and down team, hanging out in a room full of memorabilia and complaining about the refs.
Secondly, I feel for him. He sounds like a State fan. Angry at his team, angry at the officials, angry at how college basketball has changed. I mean, we’ve all been there, right? And to be honest, the reffing was awful last night, but it’s what you expect from Teddy Valentine.
How Valentine continues to be called “one of the best refs in the game” is beyond me. This country has about 330 million people in it, and you can’t tell me that there’s no better option than TV Teddy. The guy is insane, is always involved in controversy, and honestly is just a bad official. The whole kicking out of multiple players after the scuffling in front of the bench, the way he was running around like some excited 15-year-old, telling coaches who is ejected and what they’ve decided was just embarrassing. And you know what, I’ll say it. Breon Pass fouled Verge Jr. on the final play of regulation and it wasn’t called. Now sure, they missed some on the other end, but I’m just saying, he clearly smacked the guy’s arm and knocked the ball out. I know good and well every State fan looked over at whoever they were watching the game with and gave this look to them after seeing that replay.
Anyways, we’ve been screwed NUMEROUS times over the years, so maybe this is just the universe balancing things out, but the point is, I’m sure most of us don’t look at content like this from other teams, but sometimes it’s nice to know being an NC State fan doesn’t make you alone. There are a ton of programs and a ton of fans in the same situation, feeling the same things. But after a win, it’s sometimes fun to just revel in the fact that you’re on the other side of the equation for a change.
A pasta eatin', Wolfpack lovin' loudmouth from Raleigh by way of New Jersey. Jimmy V and Chuck Amato fanboy. All opinions are my own and you're gonna hear'em.
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.
