PJ Haggerty, one of the best available college basketball transfer portal players, won the AAC Player of the Year at Memphis this past season. The 6’3 guard averaged over 21 ppg and was an All-American as one of the top pure scorers.
After entering the transfer portal a few weeks ago, some teams emerged as candidates for Haggerty. That included Texas, Ole Miss, and potentially a return to the Memphis Tigers. However, things have changed regarding which teams were genuinely in the mix. Reports have since come out that Ole Miss and Texas were pulling out of the sweepstakes, while a return to the Tigers was viewed as “unlikely”.
Barring a new program getting into the mix, that would mean that the NC State Wolfpack has a great chance to land Haggerty. In fact, some crystal balls have been placed in projection for the ACC program to eventually land him, assuming Haggerty does return from the NBA Draft process.
It would be a massive pickup for new head coach Will Wade. The Wolfpack has landed a few guards, so far this offseason, including Quadir Copeland (McNeese State), Alyn Breed (McNeese State), and Tre Holloman (Michigan State). But none of them are the high-volume scorers that Haggerty is. He’d instantly become the go-to option for the team and the biggest offseason pickup.
If it works out, Haggerty could be good enough to propel the Wolfpack back into the NCAA Tournament. The last time the program made it, they had a miracle run to the Final Four. It wasn’t good enough to keep Coach Kevin Keatts around, but Wade is looking to get off on the right foot.
Time will tell how the Haggerty sweepstakes works out, but at the moment, NC State has to feel good about where they stand with the All-American guard.