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NC State Picks Up Their 1st Quad 1 Win of the Season at Clemson!

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2 months ago

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For the first time since 2015, NC State defeated Clemson on the road this evening, beating the Tigers 78-77 in dramatic fashion. The Wolfpack entered the contest with an 0-6 record in Quad 1 games, but the win over Clemson tonight gives NC State their first Quad 1 win of the season.

The Wolfpack trailed by 1 with 25 seconds left. With 10 seconds left on the shot clock, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts didn’t like what he was seeing, and called timeout, drawing up a play to get DJ Horne the ball. The timeout accomplished its task, with Horne hitting the game winner with 9 seconds left on the clock.

Horne finished with 27 points, making 10 of his 20 shots, and 5 of 11 from deep. After scoring 11 in the 1st half, Horne only scored 3 points in the first 14 minutes of the 2nd half. Yes, that means DJ scored 13 minutes in the final 6 minutes.

NC State owned the 1st half, and Clemson owned the 2nd, but the Wolfpack had the last word.

Obviously Horne gets the game ball, but the next player I would give it to would be Mohamed Diarra. He finished with 11 points, 9 rebounds and 3 steals. Diarra made all of three of his three point attempts, and his steal with 31 seconds left made the dramatic ending with Horne possible.

Also, without Casey Morsell creating a jump ball trying to wrestle the ball away from PJ Hall with 25 seconds left, the ending wouldn’t have materialized.

DJ Burns fouled out, but before doing so, he was extremely efficient offensively, scoring 14 points on 6 of 9 shooting. He also led the Wolfpack with 4 assists.

I know everyone is going to remember Jayden Taylor missing a wide open layup with 1:31 left, but coming off the bench, the Wolfpack was +5 with him on the court, which led the team. He finished with 12 points on 4 of 8 shooting.

NC State finishes the regular season with 3 consecutive Quad 1 games (UNC, Duke, Pitt), but before that, the slate is Syracuse (Quad 3), Boston College (Quad 3) and FSU (Quad 2).

This thing isn’t over yet folks!

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Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
2 months ago

There you go again, trying to get our hopes up. I’m not buying in anymore. Run the table or get rid of KK.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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2 days 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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3 days 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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4 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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5 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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