ACC Basketball: Louisville, Wake Forest rise in updated way-too-early ranking for 2024-25

4. NC State Wolfpack

The latest news with this team is the resolution of two players where there weren’t clarity as to their status on the roster. We now know that former four-star prospects Ernest Ross and MJ Rice won’t be returning to the team, which somewhat hurts their depth in that they could’ve been possible breakout candidates, at least Rice.

Still, there’s plenty of talent throughout the rest of the roster, despite losing leading scorers, DJ Horne, Casey Morsell, and DJ Burns. Jack Clark also transferred out to VCU. Who are returning are starting guards Michael O’Connell and Jayden Taylor, joined by Louisville transfer Mike James and Marcus Hill, who averaged over 20 ppg at Bowling Green. 

The one big man back for NC State is Ben Middlebrooks, who was a standout forward for the team in the postseason. Joining him is Louisville transfer center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, along with Dontrez Styles, a double-digit scoring combo forward from Georgetown. Canadian forward Ismael Diouf joins the team to add more depth inside.

Coach Kevin Keatts went from nearly fired last March to having a fairly successful offseason in roster building these last couple of months. We’ll see if the postseason was a fluke but from a talent standpoint, the Wolfpack shouldn’t have any kind of drop-off.