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
They have excellent guards, so do we.
In order to win this, I think someone large is going to have to catch us by surprise. Maybe Ross shines, maybe DJ gives us more quality minutes than expected, maybe Clark finally shoots well, or maybe Gantt shows up and does well. Or maybe even Ebe comes and subs well. No idea who or how, but I think the difference is going to be our bigs or there’s.
Hope our shots are falling.
Rebound, take care of the ball, and limit fouls.
Too close to call but our stats include Mahorcic. Without his defense and rebounding we will need to reduce turnovers (damned if we don’t play sloppy sometimes) and improve free throw shooting (our best shooters seem lackadaisical at the line sometimes). I am not optimistic about our first road game. Prove me wrong. Go Pack