2022 Record: 23-11 (12-8)
Head Coach: Kevin Keatts (Career Record 185-107) (NC State Record 113-79)
Projected Rotation:
PG: DJ Horne (Arizona State 12.5 Pts, 3.4 Reb, 2.4 Ast)
SG: Jayden Taylor (Butler 12.9 Pts, 3.8 Reb, 1.3 Ast)
SF: Casey Morsell (11.8 Pts, 4.4 Reb, 0.9 Ast)
PF: Ben Middlebrooks (Clemson 3.1 Pts, 2.7 Reb, 0.4 Ast)
C: DJ Burns (12.5 Pts, 4.8 Reb, 1.5 Ast)
6: PG Michael O’Connell (Stanford 5.2 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 3.1 Ast)
7: SF MJ Rice (Kansas 2.2 Pts, 1.0 Reb, 0.2 Ast)
8: PF Ernest Ross (3.5 Pts, 2.5 Reb, 0.3 Ast)
9: PG Kam Woods (North Carolina A&T 17.3 Pts, 4.2 Reb, 3.3 Ast)
10: PF Mohamed Diarra (Missouri 3.2 Pts, 3.3 Reb, 0.6 Ast)
11: SG LJ Thomas (2.4 Pts, 2.1 Reb, 0.5 Ast)
12: SF Dennis Parker Jr
13: SG Breon Pass (1.5 Pts, 0.8 Reb, 0.3 Ast)
NC State lost a lot in the offseason and had to completely retool their roster in the portal following an appearance in the 2023 NCAA Tournament ending their 4 year tournament drought. NC State does return starters Casey Morsell and DJ Burns from last seasons team. Morsell is a very experienced player going into his 5th season of college basketball. Morsell is also one of the better three point shooters the Wolfpack have on the squad. The former UVA guard shot 41% from 3 this past season and will take on more of a leadership role going into his super senior year. Burns is a 6-9 275lb big man also entering his 5th year of college basketball. Burns moves really well for his size and commands an inside presence. The former Winthrop transfer excels at finishing around the rim posting a career shooting percentage of 60%. Other returning players include backup big man former 4 star Ernest Ross, along with guards rising sophomore LJ Thomas and rising junior Breon Pass. Both saw minimal action last season.
As mentioned before, NC State hit the portal hard this offseason adding numerous high major transfers to the team. The Wolfpack added Arizona State transfer DJ Horne and Butler transfer Jayden Taylor to booster the backcourt. Horne projects to be the starting point guard for the Wolfpack next season. He’s also going into his 5th year of college basketball after spending some time at Illinois State and Arizona State. Horne takes care of the ball well and is a good passer in addition to being a reliable shooter from beyond the arc with a career 38% mark. Jayden Taylor is another high major athletic guard that is expected to start for the Wolfpack next season. Taylor proved late last season he can be an elite scorer and really take over games. NC State also got a commitment from 4 star wing Dennis Parker Jr who could potentially crack the rotation as well.
NC State also added transfers MJ Rice out of Kansas and Ben Middlebrooks from Clemson. Rice is a highly rated recruit in the 2022 class and North Carolina native that is returning home to play for the Wolfpack. He saw minimal action in 23 games with the Jayhawks and posted a career high of 19 points last season. Ben Middlebrooks is also a former 4 star recruit who spent the past 2 seasons at Clemson. Middlebrooks is a player that could easily breakout next season surprising many in the CBB world. In addition, NC State also added Missouri transfer Mohamed Diarra who is a former JUCO all-american that should compete with Middlebrooks and possibly Ernest Ross for a starting spot.
The Wolfpack added a couple more transfer guards to round out their roster with Michael O’Connell from Stanford and Kam Woods from NC A&T. O’Connell is expected to come off the bench in a backup point guard role and give some good minutes. His strength is for sure his passing along with taking care of the ball. However, he can also be a scoring threat when necessary and is a better shooter than his stats indicate. Kam Woods is going to be a pure scoring threat off the bench for the Wolfpack. He is someone that can come off the bench in any game and provide that instant spark needed to win.
It’s tough to pinpoint how good this Wolfpack team will be. They made a huge stride last season going from 11 wins in the 2021-22 season with Keatts being squarely on the hot seat to 23 wins in the 2022-23 season with an NCAA Tournament appearance. They made many additions this offseason so it will be important to see how well this team gels together. NC State should find themselves towards the middle of the pack in the ACC this season. This roster looks to be more of an NIT team than one that will return to the tournament. If they can avoid a disastrous collapse then Keatts’ job security will remain safe.