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.
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.
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.
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.
dgomer05281 dgo0528 wolfpack74 First: sweet sixteen is the limit for this staff including all the luck they can muster. Second: who should be at fault if you can’t control your players on the court and keep them in school. Third, Kyle has more ability than Freeman and Anya put together. In stead of trying to run that useless UCLA offense, he should be able to develop something around the players that he has and will recruit. Fourth: So far I haven’t really seen anything great out of this staff except for pretty good recruiting. Managing players and the game is not Gott’s… Read more »
dgo0528 wolfpack74 I’m betting you also moaned and whined about having a new coach in 2011, losing CJ and Lorenzo in 2013, and losing TJ in 2014. If you don’t trust this staff after four years, four tourney appearances, and two Sweet Sixteens, then chances are you’re a spoiled brat who doesn’t appreciate much in life. The only disappointing season Gott’s had was 2012, when we were #6 in the preseason poll. If you think that letdown was Gott’s fault, then you’ve either got it out for our coach or you’ve got your head where the sun don’t shine. I’m guessing… Read more »
dgo0528 wolfpack74 I am a big fan. That’s why I am pissed off at this staff. They forced Kyle out and now Bejay has blown his weight and Freeman is more limited than ever and we didn’t get a point guard to help Barber. So what is there to buck up about? You drink the cool aid, I don’t.
wolfpack74 For a ‘fan’ of NC State, you really seem to hate everything about our athletic programs. How about buck up and show some support or go cheer for the Holes with the rest of the whiners?
This team will really suck next year. Maybe 2016 will be better if Smith and Bam Bam come.