Cam Hayes has entered the transfer portal

Can’t say we didn’t see this one coming.

Cam Hayes has entered the transfer portal today, leaving just Ebe Dowuona as the lone player from the 2020 class on the Wolfpack roster.

Cam Hayes has already heard from Tennessee, Houston and Loyola Chicago since hitting the portal, sources told @247SportsPortal. https://t.co/EXB0iLp7B3

— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 16, 2022

That’s 2 PGs gone (Hayes and Shakeel Moore), Nick Farrar and Jaylon Gibson gone. To be honest, there’s no dancing around this, this a bad look for Kevin Keatts. Losing Moore was the biggest loss in our eyes. He was a guy you go to war with. Physical, strong and determined, but he and Keatts never saw eye to eye, likely due to his lack of playing time despite showing signs of promise in the minutes he was given.

The Hayes loss was easy to see coming. Cam struggled from the get-go, losing his shot, and becoming turnover prone on offense, while constantly losing his man on defense. The writing was on the wall, in our eyes, a few games after he was benched. When he got back in the game he looked like he was checked out. Smiling after mistakes with body language that wasn’t consistent with a guy who is locked in and focused on killing his opponent.

NC State’s roster is going to look a lot different next season. Gibson is now gone, Hayes is now gone, Hellems is graduating, and Allen is graduating. There are 4 spots open, 2 of which are being filled with incoming freshmen.

You hope that this is the end of the attrition, but it’s 2022, and anything is on the table. Will Bates return? Will Seabron return? Will T.Smith return? If all 3 are back, then NC State may have a chance to add pieces and be competitive next season. If not, then man, it’s going to be tough for Keatts to build a contender in a single off-season.

On one hand, you expect transfers to happen with the new rules in place. On the other hand, Keatts is already on the hot seat with a portion of the fanbase and every transfer is another piece of proof for them that he isn’t the right fit for NC State. The truth is, this was a BAD team and the last thing you wanted to do was bring back all the pieces of this team and hope for a different outcome.

The roster is going to be different and honestly, that’s a good thing. We wish Cam luck wherever he lands, but by no means was this a surprise to anyone paying attention this season.

According to sources, Tennessee, Houston and Loyola have already reached out.