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NC State Basketball

Seabron Enters NBA Draft, but Could Still Return to College

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Little Saturday news bomb;

This isn’t to say it wasn’t totally unexpected. There were moments during the year where Seabron was being floated as a first round pick, before tailing off a bit down the stretch. But what does the last line about “maintaining my college eligibility” mean?

Draft Status

Lots of projections have Seabron as a late second round pick. Scouts loved his ability to get to the hoop, while contributing to all aspects of the scoresheet. By season’s end, Seabron lead the Pack in points, assists, rebounds, FG% and steals. For basically the first month, he was an “everything” man.

Which is why declaring for the draft was a near must.

Because of rule changes in late 2018, a college player that goes undrafted can return to school. So if Seabron slips out of those two rounds, he’ll be back. From that viewpoint, seems interesting that more players don’t go that way of decision making.

Now, could a jumper propel him to a lot more money with a higher draft position? Absolutely. But if folks are thinking about you around the 50th pick, get a small signing bonus and try to work things through in the G-League. To say that Seabron’s NBA workouts are going to be massive for his future, is an understatement. If he shows that he can tighten up aspects of his game, he’ll be gone.

 

What now?

Please don’t yell at the messenger…State still has pieces. With maturity, Smith can take some of the load off Seabron’s scoring loss. The addition of Phillips and another big, while help in the rebound department. Any true PG will take over assists. Seabron is a massive piece, no doubt, but this is the world of college basketball and what teams need to do when a potential NBA draft guy leaves.

We now just have to site and wait with the double-edged sword. Is one of our guys heading to the NBA or is he returning to turn this ship around?

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Afterglow
Afterglow
2 years ago

My question Pack Insider Staff… why? Seeing the schools he could potentially transfer to, this is a lateral move at best. What is beneath the iceberg that is Manny Bates transferring from State? I want to know.

Afterglow
Afterglow
2 years ago
Reply to  Afterglow

I meant this for Manny Bates, not Seabron.

Dof87
Dof87
2 years ago

This was completely expected, nothing has changed. I’d be surprised if Smith doesn’t get evaluated as well. There is no reason not to.

Its nice that Seabron hasn’t also entered the portal.

Worst case is he goes NBA last minute, leaving KK with fewer options to fill spot, but OTOH KK can highlight how he can take a 3* guard and have him NBA ready in a couple of years of playing time.

Last edited 2 years ago by Dof87

NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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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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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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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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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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