NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.
Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.
Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.
Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.
The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross. Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.
With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.
End of first half can’t throw it in the ocean. Missing layups and open 3s. Might be too far behind to come back against their D.
Yep. I’m afraid I know how this goes. Good night!
Tonight is, in my opinion, the toughest game of the regular season. Win this, and I’ll believe anything is possible.
This has the makings of a classic ACC game. Hope our shots are falling. It will be interesting to see how the deal with DJ and if we can penetrate the zone or get it to him deep. Maybe KK will put Jarkel at the high post again if we can’t get in otherwise. Jarkel’s speed is our X factor. I think the pressure is on UVA and not us. Its a more important game for them AND they are coming off a loss. For us, its just and opportunity and if we don’t win we are still in good… Read more »
Also, Gardner will be a load for us to stop, and I could see him getting DJ in early foul trouble or pulling him out an driving by. We’ll need Ebe and Ross to keep up their good play.