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NC State lands combo guard DJ Horne from the portal

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1 year ago

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With Jarkell Joiner graduating and Terquavion Smith heading to the NBA, NC State needed to replace their guards.

Last week, they landed Butler’s Jayden Taylor to slot in at SG, and today they landed DJ Horne, a 6’1 combo guard, who will likely slot in at the point.

Horne is from Cary, NC so this was really a ‘come home and play in front of friends and family’ sell from NC State. He’s coming from Arizona State where he averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists last season. Horn shot 35.5% from long range as well.

Watching some DJ Horne you will surely get some Jarkell Joiner vibes. He was tied for the second-leading scorer on the Sun Devils roster last year and is a true combo guard. This was just like Joiner, who was listed as a PG, but really was more of a scoring guard at Ole Miss. In fact, Joiner’s highest assist average in his college career was 2.3 before last season. Horne’s highest is 2.7 during his sophomore year.

I believe at this point, Horne is your starting PG. Some analysts think the Pack is still in the market for a true PG, and maybe they are, but Horne wouldn’t be much different, in terms of style, than Joiner was last year at the point. Horne’s handle is more than fine for what Keatts would be asking of him, and he is pretty slippery on the drive. I think

Horne and Taylor give the Pack a very good scoring backcourt, with good size, and while it might seem like there is no way to replicate last years backcourt, they really only shot 3% better combined from the field than the two new additions and 1% better combined from 3 point range.

Horne is a much needed addition for the Pack, but to truly improve from last year, they’re going to need someone who can distribute the basketball. They are losing 4.1 assists per game from Smith and 3.6 per game from Joiner. Horne dished out 2.3 last year and Taylor just 1.3. State fans do not want to see another team that just isolates and shoots. They want to see team basketball, and right now unless Horne wants to come in and show off a different side of his game, the Pack is a true PG away from being able to play that way.

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Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

Saw an article saying we’re in the mix for Jaden Bradley. (although we do have our quota of Jaydens) He’s a 5 star, pass-first PG from Concord that played one season at Bama. Sounds too good to be true. And we might have backed off after Horne signed.
Not sure how we could fit him into the scholarship mix.

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Dof87
Dof87
1 year ago

I’m hoping LJ and Breon stick around and can deliver those missing assists. We need guards that can draw fouls as well.

If Miranda can score inside, and maybe another PF, maybe we can generate more assists through them.

Last edited 1 year ago by Dof87
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Rev
Rev
1 year ago
Reply to  Dof87

Yes! I thought LJ played with a lot of poise for a freshman. I hope he stays too. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wins a starting role. On the other hand, I am glad Horne is a great addition. Having three people who can bring the ball up the court and start the offense is good insurance against fouls and, God forbid injuries. So we lost two guards (I really hope Morsell comes back) and now we have two transfers and a freshman coming in. Even with Miranda stepping up, we need another bruising big (or two)… Read more »

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Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago
Reply to  Rev

Last year the only transfer I was truly excited about was the Big South Player of the year, Burns. Joiner was a CG brought in to play point – did not have good assist numbers, Clark was too skinny to fight for the tough boards and his 3PT % was in the high 20s, and Mahorcic was a total unknown having only played 13 games at Utah. And none of those three were highly sought after HS recruits. And then, when the season started, those three started and Burns didn’t. And it worked well. You just never know. But I… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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10 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2024

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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.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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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.

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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.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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4 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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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.

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