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NC State Basketball

NC State Basketball Thursday Web Run (12/12)

Published

10 years ago

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To be honest, there’s not too much news to report on State sports right now. It’s the notorious slow period around the holidays, but there are a few nuggets floating around out there. Here they are with a few little takeaways from us.

 

– N&O: Jordan Vandenberg Emerges
Barry Jacobs has a nice piece out on Jordan in the N&O. It’s pretty spot on talking about injuries, logjams at the position and a weight problem that was holding the 7’1 Aussie back. I really think a lot of it was confidence issues that aren’t discussed in the article. Fans were pretty critical of Vandenberg every since he raised expectations with a between the legs dung in his dunk contest appearance as a freshman. He played well in his early chances to spell Tracy Smith, but nothing ever came of it. Jacobs does hit on the fact that Gottfried grew tired of him being content as a backup, which is warranted because he did get way out of shape there for a while. With the weight gain came some real confidence problems. He looked nervous and lost every time he touched the ball last season. This year he’s reshaped his body and is finally living up to (and exceeding) the Pack’s expectations for him.

Key Quote:  “I’m not trying to play for my own personal glory,” he said repeatedly during an interview this week. “I’m trying to get my team somewhere.”

 

– We were the first to break the news that the Holt brother’s construction company was going to be renovating Reynolds coliseum in the near future and recently a new mock-up of the proposed space has started floating around. The space is pretty much the same on the sides, however in the endzone it looks like they’ll have a glass area, probably for recruits or VIPs. The only problem people seem to be having here is the cost. Looks like State will be dumping $40 million into this project. Sounds like a bit much, does it not?

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– USA Today: Sidney Lowe Pleads Guilty to Tax Charges
Now on to the bad news. Our boy Sid has taken another fall. This makes me pretty sad, to be honest. I loved Sid, I loved the story of him coming back to save NC State as a head coach. Sadly, it was a crash and burn type scenario from there on out. His teams were pretty undisciplined and he just wasn’t quite ready to handle the duties of a college head coach. That was sad, but I still applauded the fact that he stepped up when no one else would. But now we find out he hasn’t been paying his taxes. Yikes. But hey, we still love Sid, don’t we? I mean, he was part of the most storied year in the history of NC State. See what winning will do for you!?

 

– Lorenzo Brown getting some major minutes for Philly. As you probably already know, Brown was cut by the T-Wolves (the team with 1000 point guards) and picked up by the 76ers. Last night for example, Brown logged 19 minutes, scored 4 points and dropped 6 dimes. The one blemish? 5 TOs. Zo is going to have to cut the TOs down if he wants to stick with Philly for the long term, however they really don’t have too many other options.

 

– Next up for the Pack is the 5-5 Detroit Titans. The game is this Saturday at 6pm. It’s on ESPN3 and being played at Reynolds Coliseum.

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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4 hours ago

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May 3, 2024

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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

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

Published

22 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

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1 day ago

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May 2, 2024

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Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.

In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.

Check out the conversation below:

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NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

Published

2 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

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