NC State Basketball
NC State Guard LJ Thomas Enters the Transfer Portal
NC State is the first team currently in the NCAA Tournament to have a player enter the Transfer Portal. In a move that isn’t a shock, Sophomore LJ Thomas has entered the Portal. The move isn’t a shock, because he hasn’t been on the sideline with the team recently.
NC State sophomore point guard L.J. Thomas has entered the transfer portal. He averaged 2.6 points per game in 12 appearances this season before he departed the team.https://t.co/UavUI3LnS4
— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) March 18, 2024
ESPN ranked Thomas as a 4-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, while Rivals, ON3 and 247Sports all gave him 3 stars. Originally from Florida, Thomas finished his High School career playing for Bull City Prep in Durham, right down the road.
Thomas managed to carve out a more significant role as a Freshman last season, than he was able to do this year.
Obviously, NC State will be active in the Transfer Portal once again, but here’s a look at which Guards are currently coming back next season.
Jayden Taylor (1 year of eligibility)
Kam Woods (1 year of eligibility)
Breon Pass (1 year of eligibility)
Dennis Parker Jr. (3 years of eligibility)
Michael O’Connell (1 year of eligibility)
(I’m not expecting MJ Rice to return either, but we will see.)
According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.
Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.
Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024
Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.
Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.
Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.
As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.
Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
View this post on Instagram
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
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MJ Rice was going to be the bright spot for years to come. What happened to him and his request for a medical redshirt for this year. What kind of shape is Parker in now after a week off. We still need his body instead of using Pass.
I wonder how bad things had to be between Thomas and Keatts for the player to walk away from the team midseason? Oh well, his loss. No doubt several of his teammates are going to transfer in the offseason. But at least they got to participate in an ACC Championship.