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WEEKEND PORTAL UPDATE: Cole Cloer enters but keeps door open, chatter heats up around NC State targets

Lou Pascucci

Published

3 months ago

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The coaching search craziness has come to a close just in time for #PortalSZN to begin.

The transfer portal doesn’t even open until April 7th, but that’s not stopping kids from ‘entering’ and others from ‘committing.’ Ok, let’s get into what’s gone down today.

  • First order of business, NC State freshman Cole Cloer (6’8, 4-star wing) has entered the portal. This came as a bit of a surprise to me, as those I talked to around the program seemed to feel like there was a good shot at him returning. One source, however, did tell me Gainey had yet to evaluate him, and that meeting may have been what kicked off this decision. I personally assumed that the evaluation would be simple. Gainey recruited Cloer at Tennessee, so there was obviously mutual interest there. Either way, Cloer entered, but he did keep the door open for NC State. I would assume that he wants to see how Gainey’s roster shakes out and how much money NC State has available for him. I’d be surprised if he jumped anywhere too fast. At this point, I’m viewing this as him keeping his options wide open.

  • Juke Harris entered the portal. The Wake Forest star is going to be highly coveted and very expensive (think $2M+). He averaged 21pts, 1.9 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 33% from 3. While at Tennessee, Gainey recruited Harris hard (he was the lead recruiter). Juke is from Salisbury, NC, so this is another one of those kids whom Gainey was trying to pluck out of our home state. While Harris ended up at Wake Forest (he wanted to be close to home), Tennessee was in his final top 12 schools, and he took an official visit to Knoxville. He was also an NC State target and has some family ties at State (mom went there). Seems like a perfect fit for State, but there is a wrinkle here. It’s very likely that Harris will go through the NBA process (much like Darrion Williams did last year). This complicates things, as a school that wants him would need to wait and pass on others in the portal, hoping he comes back to school. This is one to keep tabs on.
  • Bishop Boswell isn’t in the portal yet, but there is a ton of chatter happening on the Tennessee side. First, we have one of their bigger talk radio guys out of Knoxville hearing rumblings. He posted about it here. Today, there were numerous insiders hearing the same thing. Boswell is a big, strong guard who is one of the top defenders in the country. But he isn’t an offensive juggernaut. That’s why keeping Paul McNeil and landing another volume scorer like Juke would be important. Speaking of the Boswell /Juke connection, fans are speculating after Boswell dropped a comment on Juke’s portal post. Connection? Coincidence? You judge.The two are from about 45 minutes apart around the Charlotte area. They were both in the 2024 class as well. You know who else is from NC and was in that 2024 class? Paul McNeil Jr
  • Najai Hines (6’10, Seton Hall) has entered his name in the portal. This is noteworthy because NC State is heavy in the market for a big and Hines is a physical one. NC State recruited him hard heading into last season but lost out to Seton Hall. This kid is local (Garner) and is a 6’10 TANK who had a nice freshman season (18 minutes per game, 6.5 points, 5.5 boards). He’s got the type of dog mentality that Gainey loves. He’s a former tight end who had multiple football offers before deciding to focus fully on basketball.

 

  • Freddie Dilione has entered the portal and has one of the strongest prior ties on the board. While serving as associate head coach at Tennessee, Justin Gainey was the lead recruiter for Freddie Dilione V out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh. Dilione committed to the Vols in August 2022 and was one of the early pieces in Rick Barnes’ 2023 class. He redshirted his freshman year at Tennessee before transferring to Penn State. Being from Fayetteville, NC gives Dilione another strong in-state connection to NC State. He’s a natural target and a good fit for Gainey (big guard from NC). He’s a big, versatile guard who averaged 14pts, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 32% from 3. His defense was noted early in his career, but it doesn’t seem to be a huge part of his game at this point.

  • Also, just because Wade is gone doesn’t mean we’re taking our eyes off James Scott of Ole Miss. He’s not in the portal yet, but if he does enter, he could be targeted. If no him look for State to find someone like this. Long, bouncy, above the rim guy who can defend the perimeter but also protect the rim and rebound. There is also the fact that Tennessee big man Cade Phillips entered the portal. He’s a Ben Middlebrooks-esque big with a little more versatility, but a history of injuries. The connection and price might be too good to pass up with him, but he’s likely not the type of athlete that is going to give you the versatility you prefer at the 4.
  • As for the other returning guys, let’s wait and see what happens now. Their meetings have happened, and the first clues as to how those went are Cole Cloer entering the portal. We’ll keep tabs on this as there is sure to be more movement soon.

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