Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
This season has been brutal. Not that I expected any miracles in this game but man, at least a space to breathe with a win but nope, not gonna happen. And honestly, I want that breath of air for the players because they need something to latch onto. Oh well.
Yea, would love to see some positives so the players have some enthusiasm for next season. If we lose out – a definite possibility since we couldn’t even beat Pitt – it would be the worst season in Pack basketball history by a lot. Corrigan may decide to burn it down.
I dread the idea of starting over once again.
Corrigan stated he supported Keatts and seemed strong on the idea of keeping him. While things can change, I personally think it’d be a bad idea to let Keatts go at this point. Starting over would require so much more momentum than going forward with what we have, especially if we can hold onto the major pieces. But who knows?