NC State Basketball had a good past season for head coach Kevin Keatts, who was reportedly on the hot seat entering the year. After finishing last in the ACC the season prior, the team ended up finishing in the top half and got 23 wins in total. It was good enough to make the NCAA Tournament and keep the program stable for the next year.
But the Wolfpack knew that it was going to lose a lot of talent this offseason. Star sophomore guard Terquavion Smith (17.9 ppg and 4.1 apg) left to be a future NBA Draft pick, while All-ACC guard Jarkel Joiner had no eligibility left. A couple of players have transferred out as well, including forwards Jack Clark, Dusan Mahorcic, and former top-50 prospect, Isaiah Miranda.
The team has made up for the roster departures with a load of newcomers from the transfer portal. In the backcourt comes DJ Horne (Arizona State), Michael O’Connell (Stanford), Jayden Taylor (Butler), and MJ Rice (Kansas), along with a pair of frontcourt players in Ben Middlebrooks (Clemson) and Mohamed Diarra (Missouri).
Ernest Ross and Casey Morsell are the two rotation players coming back, along with two incoming true freshmen in guard Tremayne Parker and forward Dennis Parker. This makes for a completely new rotation for next season, with varying roles for everyone. Plus. LJ Thomas and Breon Pass are back for potential large roles next season as well.
Here’s an early look at NC State’s roster for next season, including the projected starters and overall rotation.
Point Guard
Projected starter: Michael O’Connell (20 mpg)
Reserve: DJ Horne (20 mpg)
After the first batch of transfer pickups, NC State still needed a true point guard. And the most recent pickup was O’Connell, a grad transfer from Stanford with a career average of 6.3 ppg and 3.2 apg. He’s not much of a shooter or offensive option overall but he’s a solid passer, including racking up nine assists versus Washington last season.
O’Connell will get the first crack at running point due to his experience but he’s now on a team with plenty of quality guards and if any can show that they too can run the offense, his minutes could easily dip. The biggest threat would be Horne, a 6’1 transfer guard from Arizona State that’s coming home. The junior averaged 12.5 ppg and 2.2 apg in the past two years as starter, making 36% of his three-point shots.
Horne played off the ball last season with the Sun Devils, while Frankie Collins was the starter. But even dating back to his days at Illinois State, he’s capable of being a facilitator. It’ll be interesting to see the route that NC State Basketball goes because as you’re going to see, there are a lot of guards that can start on this team. So expect the competition for minutes to be big.
Shooting guard
Projected starter: DJ Horne (10 mpg)
Reserves: Casey Morsell (15 mpg), Trey Parker (15 mpg)
The minutes that Horne gets at the two-spot will ultimately depend on how well O’Connell handles the point. But make no mistake, he’ll be starting somewhere in the lineup next season. He’s a proven scorer, with 12 games of at least 15 points, which includes 25 against Northern Arizona on 7/11 shooting from the field.
Horne shot 37% from the field and was definitely ball-dominant. And that was with a good ball-handler at ASU. So imagine what it could be if he has to create his offense on his own. NC State Basketball is used to that though with Terquavion Smith but if Horne doesn’t give them big scoring games but still the inefficiency, the offense could get dicey.
Look for Morsell to get some minutes at the two-spot as well. He shot 41% from three-point range which is easily the best among the rotation players. After playing third fiddle last season to the other two guards, look for the 6’3 veteran to have an even larger role.
Parker is a top-100 incoming freshman prospect with plenty of potential as a pure scorer. But with so many new pieces that expect minutes, his role truly is TBD.
Small forward/third guard
Projected starter: Casey Morsell (16 mpg)
Reserve: Jayden Taylor (24 mpg)
While both Smith and Joiner got all of the attention in the backcourt, Morsell produced career-high numbers as the third guard in the lineup. He averaged 11.9 ppg and 4.4 rpg on 47% shooting from the field. The 5th-year senior had a trio of 20+ point games, including 23 against Kansas on 5/8 shooting from deep.
Morsell’s three-point shooting and experience warrant him a spot in the starting lineup and in the rotation. And whether it’s at the two or three-spot, he’s going to get plenty of minutes in the backcourt once again.
One other guard that hasn’t been mentioned yet is Taylor, a transfer from Butler. As a sophomore guard, he averaged 12.9 ppg and 3.8 while shooting 41% from the field and 33% from three-point range. Taylor had his fair share of big scoring outputs as well, including 24 points against Georgetown.
At 6’4, Taylor is the biggest guard of the group, which instantly slides him to the wing position. He’s the least experienced compared to the other guards and he’s not a ball-handler so it’ll be interesting to see how he fits into the lineup and whether Taylor ends up starting or not.
Power forward/fourth guard
Projected starter: MJ Rice (25 mpg)
Reserves: Ben Middlebrooks (10 mpg), Dennis Parker (5 mpg)
With so many guards, where will Rice ultimately play? After Miranda departed the roster, the four-spot became fairly open. He’s the biggest among all of the perimeter players, listed at 6’5 and 220 pounds. He’s a former five-spot prospect that was limited to 23 games as a freshman this past season.
Rice was playing behind guys such as Kevin McCullar, Gradey Dick, and Jalen Wilson and he dealt with a back issue reportedly early in the season. So there’s a strong case that he could be a breakout candidate at the right spot. He’s someone that can shoot and spread the floor but there’s plenty of competition among all of the newcomers.
One of them is Middlebrooks, who averaged 3.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg as a 6’10 forward from Clemson. He averaged around 11 mpg last season and started seven games when PJ Hall was coming back from injury. Middlebrooks is a solid role player that can defend but the concern is how he fits with Burns inside since neither can spread the floor. Both the bigs at Clemson could so it’ll be a different situation for the new big.
Another incoming freshman to watch is the other Parker, a 6’8 combo forward. If there’s a spot for the four-star prospect to play it’s at the four and if Middlebrooks/Burns isn’t a good fit, there’s an opportunity for him.
Center
Projected starter: D.J. Burns (24 mpg)
Reserve: Mohamed Diarra (16 mpg)
After winning Big South Player of the Year, Burns proved to be a highly effective big man for the Wolfpack. He averaged 12.5 ppg and 4.8 rpg on 56% shooting and had some huge performances in the second half of the season. That includes a 31-point performance against Wake Forest on the road.
Whether it’s via foul trouble or just being a big body (260 pounds last season), Burns is going to average around 25 mpg, creating an opportunity for a backup to have a spot in the rotation. The most likely option is Diarra, a 6’10 forward that averaged 3.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg at Missouri in 12 mpg off the bench.
Compared to Middlebrooks, Diarra is a bit more skilled, capable of making some three-point shots. He’s also a good rebounder, having a trio of 10-rebound games in limited minutes. The Tigers opted for more small-ball lineups and so will NC State in a way but there’s definitely going to be room for him on this team.
To a degree, Middlebrooks and Diarra will be interchangeable at the power forward and center positions but we could see scenarios where Middlebrooks plays with the guards and Burns plays more with Diarra with two-big lineups. There’s going to be a lot of moving parts but the Wolfpack definitely has a lot of interesting new pieces to watch for.