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.
Can we send Keatts to the transfer portal instead of good players for a change?
NIL money makes it really hard to guess who will leave or not. Clark might be betting on a big payoff, or he may simply be looking for a starting spot. It will be very interesting where he winds up. Players transferring from State haven’t recently found themselves in a much better place.
So far, you are 0 for 1 on predictions.
The college basketball landscape is much different in this day and age. Every team is dealing with this. Keatts showed he could put together a team through the portal last season, I see no reason why he won’t do the same this season. Don’t get down on the man just because players are transferring. And please!!!! He did a 180 with the team so I’m not sure why you think he should “transfer”.