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
We stomp VT and the Tigers absolutely maul us. Wow. Not sure what happened. Did we spend all our point on VT? All kidding aside, that game was embarrassing. While I’m good with the season we had, I do not see us going much further than one win into the NCAA Tournament. Just don’t see it. We don’t have the “it” factor. Still, a highly entertaining team to watch and I’ve enjoyed watching them play.
Clemson is just a bad matchup for us. We are a bad matchup for VT. KK needs to figure out a solution to that but it doesn’t mean we don’t have a good team. There aren’t many teams that can replicate what Clemson does.
These tough matchups, Clemson and UVA, would be much easier if we had Dusan, who could get physical in the paint but also get out on sharp shooting centers.
I don’t think we’re a bad team. It just feels as if we lack the killer instinct or ability to dig ourselves out of difficult situations. Granted, we’re 23-10 so we’re good. I just don’t think we have the “it”.
Turnovers kill any chance. Hall reminds me of Gugliotta.
Clemson, as much as I hate them right now, deserves to be in the NCAAT.
UNC goes down, so there’s that. UVA’s defense was scary good.
Other teams that could push us down have generally been losing, so now I think we are safe with a 10 seed at worst, and almost no chance of having to do the play in game.
Ok. We stomped VaTech and surely we are in. But, after all the wonderful improvements, wildly entertaining basketball, and way exceeding my preseason expectations…….Clemson beat us TWICE. I want revenge. In my heart I know, these State guys have a lot of rightly justified pride. Therefore, Beat f*****g Clemson! Don’t do it for me. Don’t do it for the fans. Do it for yourselves! Oh sorry guys. Sometimes the pressure just gets to me and The Reverend starts to preach. Anybody, Give me an AMEN!
Amen Rev!
I think we are solidly in, but there is still some risk of dropping to 11 seed and the dreaded play in game. Providence and Pitt both lost so the helps a bit.