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
But the biggest difference was stopping Miami on the last four possessions of overtime. “Defense wins games when the shots aren’t falling,” Jim Valvano.
Some comments really stood out to me: NC State forced 17 Miami turnovers, but had just four of its own.
The Pack finished the game with a 23-7 advantage in points off turnovers, a 16-3 advantage in second chance points and a 52-36 in points in the paint.
Miami shot 56.9 percent from the field compared to just 44 percent for NC State, but the Pack attempted 24 more shots (75 to 51) than the Canes.
Joiner’s toughness and poise when the game gets to critical moments is such a big part of our ability to win these close ones. What a huge difference having that experience. ZERO turnovers! AGAIN!. Only 4 turnovers for the entire team! Add the constant offensive pressure applied by Smith and you got yourself a basketball team.
Thought we were in trouble when Dusan went down.
Really thought the season was going south when we lost our second starter.
Then Gantt showed up and played well, giving us a chance.
And now Ross outplayed Gantt!
BEST WIN OF THE SEASON!!
Another ‘toughness’ win for the Pack! This time with Ross gettin into it! Seems like KK has a nice rotation going.
This was a key win against one of the top 2 or 3 teams in the conference.
No doubt. That’s a type of win that builds grit. Ross was huge. I thought we were doomed to lose when we seemed unable to hit a shot for that stretch in the second half. There was one point where we failed to get the rebound 4 times before Miami decided to then hit their shot. I did not think that game would go our way but in true Cardiac Pack spirit, they somehow found a way to win. To Miami’s credit, they were clutch and didn’t seem to miss a shot (and crucial ones at that) especially toward the… Read more »
I keep feeling every game so far that we’ve won is vital and I’m going to say, a road win at Georgia Tech would be real nice for us. I believe this stretch has been huge, but we need to keep churning these Ws out. Maybe I’m just not satisfied. And the way our players have been playing, I get a sense they aren’t satisfied either. I get a sense something is clicking right now. Something nice.
“when we hungry, we eat”
Julius Hodge.