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Cam Hayes has entered the transfer portal

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2 years ago

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Can’t say we didn’t see this one coming.

Cam Hayes has entered the transfer portal today, leaving just Ebe Dowuona as the lone player from the 2020 class on the Wolfpack roster.

That’s 2 PGs gone (Hayes and Shakeel Moore), Nick Farrar and Jaylon Gibson gone. To be honest, there’s no dancing around this, this a bad look for Kevin Keatts. Losing Moore was the biggest loss in our eyes. He was a guy you go to war with. Physical, strong and determined, but he and Keatts never saw eye to eye, likely due to his lack of playing time despite showing signs of promise in the minutes he was given.

The Hayes loss was easy to see coming. Cam struggled from the get-go, losing his shot, and becoming turnover prone on offense, while constantly losing his man on defense. The writing was on the wall, in our eyes, a few games after he was benched. When he got back in the game he looked like he was checked out. Smiling after mistakes with body language that wasn’t consistent with a guy who is locked in and focused on killing his opponent.

NC State’s roster is going to look a lot different next season. Gibson is now gone, Hayes is now gone, Hellems is graduating, and Allen is graduating. There are 4 spots open, 2 of which are being filled with incoming freshmen.

You hope that this is the end of the attrition, but it’s 2022, and anything is on the table. Will Bates return? Will Seabron return? Will T.Smith return? If all 3 are back, then NC State may have a chance to add pieces and be competitive next season. If not, then man, it’s going to be tough for Keatts to build a contender in a single off-season.

On one hand, you expect transfers to happen with the new rules in place. On the other hand, Keatts is already on the hot seat with a portion of the fanbase and every transfer is another piece of proof for them that he isn’t the right fit for NC State. The truth is, this was a BAD team and the last thing you wanted to do was bring back all the pieces of this team and hope for a different outcome.

The roster is going to be different and honestly, that’s a good thing. We wish Cam luck wherever he lands, but by no means was this a surprise to anyone paying attention this season.

According to sources, Tennessee, Houston and Loyola have already reached out.

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travelwolf
travelwolf
2 years ago

when a player gets worse in his sophomore year, that means he’s not doing the extra work to improve his game… Ernie Meyers was the same way… got worse between his 1st and 2nd years (he was a fulltime starter his 2nd year… the first year he took over for Wittenberg until W. recovered). We used to call him O-fer – because he was zero for N, where N is the number of shots. Years later, I read in an interview that he admitted that he just didn’t have the drive to excel in basketball… he was a 5-star recruit,… Read more »

Last edited 2 years ago by travelwolf
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Dof87
Dof87
2 years ago
Reply to  travelwolf

Sometimes a player’s performance is in part impacted by the players, or lack thereof, around him. PG is tougher job without a big man inside. I guess we’ll never know. I expect Cam will be a pretty good guard by the time he’s a senior. Hope he finds success.

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Dof87
Dof87
2 years ago

Had Moore stuck around maybe he’d have taken over at PG this year. As much as I hated to see him leave, he was a favorite of mine, his stats this year at MSU were mediocre at best.

I expect both Cam and Shakeel will be very good senior guards.

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Rev
Rev
2 years ago

Interesting comments about Hayes’ body language and “Smiling after mistakes”. I am not surprised at this move, but wasn’t prepared for much action until after the Tournament. I am glad we know where we stand early. Now if we can just avoid another knee jerk reaction like the signing of Gibson….

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NC State Basketball

Georgia Center Transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe Visited NC State this Week

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2 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) was in for a visit to NC State yesterday, according to a source.

Anselm-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.

Back in 2020, Anselm-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.

Anselm-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.

ECU Power Forward Transfer Ezra Ausar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago, and while things were looking good at first, at this point, it seems like things have reached a point of radio silence. From what I’m hearing, NC State would definitely take Ausar, but they aren’t going to wait for him either.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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1 day ago

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May 7, 2024

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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5 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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6 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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