Connect with us

NC State Basketball

What does Markell Johnson’s Reinstatement Mean for NC State?

Published

6 years ago

on

NC State has done a pretty remarkable job of reinventing themselves since the Markell Johnson suspension began.

Remember, the Pack dropped a home game to UNCG on their first game without Johnson. They went on to beat Robert Morris and Jacksonville (two of their weakest opponents to date) but fell to Clemson and Notre Dame to open ACC play. What happened after that is pretty remarkable.

Kevin Keatts was able to get his group to adjust on the fly. Whatever he’s been saying to Lavar Batts Jr, it got through. Batts stepped up huge in NC State’s wins over Duke and Clemson and has become a reliable PG and the team’s best on-ball defender. He’s also gotten through to Al Freeman, who over the past two games has 10 assists and suddenly is playing team basketball. Throw in the fact that Torin Dorn is playing as aggressive as he ever has and Yurtseven suddenly looks like the sure-fire pro he was advertised as.

Without Johnson, Keatts has gotten his guys to step up. To take pride in defense and to play as a team. Before Johnson was suspended, he was the main facilitator and he was doing a great job at it (His assist rate was top-10 in the nation). But without him, they’ve had to take a team approach to creating for each other. Batts, Beverly, Al Freeman and Torin Dorn have all increased their assist rate since Johnson has been out.

It’s not just passing either. NC State went through a stretch after Markell was out, where they couldn’t create any turnovers. Over the past two games, they’ve figured it out. They turned Duke over 16 times and Clemson 17 times in those wins.

Was this team using Markell Johnson as a crutch? In some areas, it appears so. Without Johnson, this team didn’t just accept the fact that they’d be lacking in the areas he was excellent. Instead, they put their heads down and figured out how to collectively fill those gaps. After beating the #2 and #19 team in consecutive outings, it might be safe to say they accomplished that.

So what happens now that Markell is back? 

Well, suddenly NC State seems a lot deeper and seems to have a lot more experience. Before Johnson’s suspension, Lavar Batts Jr wasn’t getting many minutes. Even though he was quick, he still made too many mistakes on both sides of the ball. That’s not the case anymore. It seems to have clicked for Batts over the past two games. With his recent surge in play and Markell’s return, NC State could have a backcourt that no guard in the ACC would want to have to face. The havoc that these two could create in Keatts’ press could boost what are already some pretty impressive turnover numbers for the Pack.

Offensively, Johnson was doing a ton. He was leading the team in assists, but he was also their best 3 point shooter (39%). He was the guy who could get into the lane, draw the defense and find the open shooters. He made the offense go for the first 10 games of the season.

Whenever you add a player into the rotation, dynamics change. This team has really played well together recently, and any change small change has the opportunity to disrupt, adding a player like Johnson will almost always be a net positive.

Look at this way, if Johnson was a ball-dominating scorer, then yes, we believe chemistry could initially be an issue, but that’s not Markell. In fact, he was leading the team in assists while also being the team’s most efficient scorer, shooting 45% from the field, 39% from 3 and shooting less-frequently than anyone on the team (.24 shots per minute). Anytime you add a guy with stats like that, you’ll likely be ok.

We still are not sure if Johnson will play in the team’s matchup with #3 Virginia on Sunday, but Keatts said that he would see how he looks in practice and decide from there.  We’ll keep you updated.

Related Topics:

NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

Published

2 days ago

on

April 26, 2024

By

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

Published

3 days ago

on

April 25, 2024

By

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

4 days ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

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.

Image

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

5 days ago

on

April 23, 2024

By

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

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tipton Edits (@tiptonedits)

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.

Continue Reading