NC State Basketball
Clemson PG Brevin Galloway says he loves playing NC State, calls them undisciplined, says they play AAU ball
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!
Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.
This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.
For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.
247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.
Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.
With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.
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.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!
View this post on Instagram
This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.
Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.
For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.
247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.
NC State’s Current 2024 Football Scholarship Breakdown
4-Star Safety Jontae Gilbert Has Locked in an Official Visit to NC State
A Look at NC State’s Draft Picks Year-by-Year
Auburn Transfer Linebacker Cam Riley Decommits from NC State
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!
NC State’s Current 2024 Football Scholarship Breakdown
NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Has Professional Options in France
NC State is High on Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill
NC State has Dominated UNC in Athletics in 2023-24
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State
2024 NC State Commit Trey Parker Finishes 2nd in OTE Dunk Contest
VIDEO BREAKDOWN: Was BYU 3 point barrage unstoppable, or was NC State’s defense to blame? You decide.
VIDEO: Terquavion Smith GOES OFF in G-League Debut with 37 points & 8 Boards
NC State lands combo guard DJ Horne from the portal
Backingthepack has a good “4000 words” explanation of KK’s offense. Good reading for those that just see ‘one on one’ and don’t understand what is being run, the challenges of operating without an athletic offensive big man, or why assists were so low this year.
It is still pick and roll and the guard drives and shoot or pulls up for a three. That exactly why KK can’t keep small or power forwards from moving on each year. Take a look at CUSA where players stay together. FAU in the final NCAA four and UAB and North Texas battling for the NIT championship.
How many starting forwards have transferred from KK’s NCSU teams? Are you saying its a long list? How many have done a lot better after transferring?
Starting or the potential to start, Steere, Clark, Gantt, Dowuona, Farrar, Hicks, Taylor, Bates, and Kapita.
Ebe is really a center in KK’s system, as clearly was Bates. Kapita was a Gott player. The short list of others demonstrate my point, prior to this year no real significant forward losses from a KK team. And both Gantt and Clark seemed to stay injured way too much, which hurt us 2 years in a row.
That’s because he can’t recruit forwards because he can’t coach them up. Therefore, we will always be a potential bubble team and a one and done with KK.
If by transferring they have not improved their situation, KK needs to highlight this more and change the style from a guard focused team to a team focused team.
BTW, both San Diego State and FAU had three transfers out and two transfers in last year. 2 of Miami’s key players (Omier and Pack) are players that transferred in this season, plus Jordan Miller who transferred in the year prior.
We have had tons of players transfer out and in. I was referring to a position that we dearly need to be filled with stability not volatility.
I really hate that you guys felt the need to repeat this. It’s just some kid trash talking to get his face out on social media, and reposting just encourages him. Can’t you think of anything else to talk about? Sure, there’s some truth there, but the style he’s criticizing beat Miami, UNC, and Louisville – who beat Clemson. BTW, that’s the same Louisville that won only two conference games, the other one against the second worst team in the ACC (GT). Plus, worst of all, Clemson lost to (Q4 , KP#237) Morehead State in the first round of the… Read more »
Yeah, but he’s not wrong though.
Lots of AAU type of ball on display, which is a stark comparison to a UVA (whom I know KK has beat too). But more discipline and less “AAU Ball” would probably be good for this team.
Not saying they need a complete overhaul…
Which team made the NCAAT again? Who beat a current final four team? Who had the discipline to not let yourself get beat by Quad 4 teams? First round NIT loss at home, while we battled a top tier Creighton team and had our chances late. I get they are butthurt so that’s all well and good. And yes, NC State does allow more chaos and one on one battles on offense. But offense wasn’t our problem against Clemson, our defensive matchups were really bad and they took great advantage of our lack of athleticism and quickness at the 5… Read more »
When you get beat by 30 it’s more than a heavy 5 spot. It’s obvious if we were not hitting 3 at a high rate, we could not contend with anyone. This is KK style which sucks. How long are we going to put up with it is the real question?