1. This could be the weekend that forms NC State’s roster for next year.
NC State will have Clemson center Ben Middlebrooks and Arizona State combo guard D.J. Horne for official visits, and might even get a third player to come. The time crunch is real because the Wolfpack will fall behind in high school recruiting if coaches are off the road doing official visits during the April 21-23 and April 28-30 evaluation periods.
The needs are obvious with finding a backup point guard, starting power forward, backup center and having that instant offense guard off the bench. Those four needs can happen and set up some roster versatility. Technically, NC State has three scholarships remaining, but odds are slim that if Dusan Mahorcic is back, he’ll be a NIL walk-on who rehabs his knee until December.
Between landing Jayden Taylor of Butler and possibly Horne, it will be interesting to see if rising junior Breon Pass sees the writing on the wall in terms of playing time. However, Pass might be content just being a student-athlete at NC State.
Before diving into the potential individual players, here is a brief look at each position.
Point guard: NC State will need someone to play 30-plus minutes a night, and then sophomore L.J. Thomas and freshman Treymane Parker will battle for leftover minutes.
Shooting guard: Butler transfer Jayden Taylor will probably split up the minutes with a portal addition, and then Pass and Parker could also provide depth.
Small forward: Fifth-year senior Casey Morsell is a proven performer and is a good example of a player reviving their career. Freshman Dennis Parker will be able to physically handle the rigors of the ACC and should be a jolt of energy off the bench.
Power forward: NC State needs to find a starter and see if junior Ernest Ross can handle being a reliable backup and takes a step forward.
Center: NC State knows D.J. Burns is good for 25 minutes a game, but has to have protection if he gets tired, into foul trouble or the game is too fast for the 330-pounder. Getting a center in a role that Mahorcic performed perfectly before getting hurt is the goal. The wildcard is will redshirt freshman Isaiah Miranda live up to his considerable potential.
2. Ben Middlebrooks proved against NC State that he was more than capable of being a solid backup center.
Middlebrooks averaged 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game at Clemson, while backing up P.J. Hall at center. He did start seven games for the Tigers.
So why does he fit for NC State? Well, it was what he did against the Wolfpack that got the coaches attention, plus assistant coach Kareem Richardson was with the Tigers a year ago. He had 10 points, seven rebounds in 18 minutes in the 78-64 CU win Dec. 30. He wasn’t a big factor in eight minutes in the second meeting, getting four points, three rebounds and foul fouls. However, in the ACC Tournament game, he played 22 minutes and had eight points and five rebounds. He won’t be a rim protector but neither was Mahorcic.
The key question is could he average what Mahorcic did — 8.7 points, 6.6 rebound sand 20.7 minutes per game. I think he can and there is something to be said about having a reliable key player off the bench.
Middlebrooks was a solid three-star prospect coming out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Westminster Academy. He picked Clemson over offers from Auburn, Dayton, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia, Iowa State, LSU, Maryland, Mississippi, Notre Dame, South Florida, Stetson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
He had pondered being in the class of 2022, but went to Clemson in the the class of 2021 after playing for Each 1 Teach 1 in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. His sister had played tennis at Clemson.
3. Horne had every connection known to man to NC State once he put his name in the portal.
• He’s local and played at Raleigh Leesville Road, Cary High and Fayetteville Trinity Christian. He played traveling ball with Garner Road on the adidas circuit.
• He went to Illinois State, where he played with Mahorcic, and he then transferred to Arizona State, where Joel Justus was his assistant coach for a year.
Players like Horne and Taylor fill crucial needs, if they join forces in Raleigh. NC State got a combined 3.9 points per game last year off the bench from guards L.J. Thomas and Breon Pass. By having a guard rotation of Morsell, Horne and Taylor, that means one of them will be a spark off the bench.
Horne averaged 12.5 points per game both years at Arizona State. He shot 36.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point land this season, with 203 of his 398 shots coming from beyond the arc.
Horne just had 20 points and went 4 of 5 on 3-pointers in the win over Nevada, and he had 17 points and went 4 of 5 on 3-pointers in the loss against TCU in the NCAA Tournament.
Horne could also fill in at point guard if called upon due to injuries or as a backup, and can guard point guards. He had 18 points and seven assists against top 10 Arizona in a 89-88 win Feb. 25, but he had 83 assists and 67 turnovers this season. However, his game is about getting floaters in the lane and deep bombs from outside.
The last time NC State had three proven wings was 2019-20 with C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels and Braxton Beverly. Bryce averaged 33.6 minutes per game, Daniels at 31.1 and Beverly at 24.8.
NC State will have Clemson center Ben Middlebrooks and Arizona State combo guard D.J. Horne for official visits, and might even get a third player to come. The time crunch is real because the Wolfpack will fall behind in high school recruiting if coaches are off the road doing official visits during the April 21-23 and April 28-30 evaluation periods.
The needs are obvious with finding a backup point guard, starting power forward, backup center and having that instant offense guard off the bench. Those four needs can happen and set up some roster versatility. Technically, NC State has three scholarships remaining, but odds are slim that if Dusan Mahorcic is back, he’ll be a NIL walk-on who rehabs his knee until December.
Between landing Jayden Taylor of Butler and possibly Horne, it will be interesting to see if rising junior Breon Pass sees the writing on the wall in terms of playing time. However, Pass might be content just being a student-athlete at NC State.
Before diving into the potential individual players, here is a brief look at each position.
Point guard: NC State will need someone to play 30-plus minutes a night, and then sophomore L.J. Thomas and freshman Treymane Parker will battle for leftover minutes.
Shooting guard: Butler transfer Jayden Taylor will probably split up the minutes with a portal addition, and then Pass and Parker could also provide depth.
Small forward: Fifth-year senior Casey Morsell is a proven performer and is a good example of a player reviving their career. Freshman Dennis Parker will be able to physically handle the rigors of the ACC and should be a jolt of energy off the bench.
Power forward: NC State needs to find a starter and see if junior Ernest Ross can handle being a reliable backup and takes a step forward.
Center: NC State knows D.J. Burns is good for 25 minutes a game, but has to have protection if he gets tired, into foul trouble or the game is too fast for the 330-pounder. Getting a center in a role that Mahorcic performed perfectly before getting hurt is the goal. The wildcard is will redshirt freshman Isaiah Miranda live up to his considerable potential.
2. Ben Middlebrooks proved against NC State that he was more than capable of being a solid backup center.
Middlebrooks averaged 3.1 points and 2.7 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game at Clemson, while backing up P.J. Hall at center. He did start seven games for the Tigers.
So why does he fit for NC State? Well, it was what he did against the Wolfpack that got the coaches attention, plus assistant coach Kareem Richardson was with the Tigers a year ago. He had 10 points, seven rebounds in 18 minutes in the 78-64 CU win Dec. 30. He wasn’t a big factor in eight minutes in the second meeting, getting four points, three rebounds and foul fouls. However, in the ACC Tournament game, he played 22 minutes and had eight points and five rebounds. He won’t be a rim protector but neither was Mahorcic.
The key question is could he average what Mahorcic did — 8.7 points, 6.6 rebound sand 20.7 minutes per game. I think he can and there is something to be said about having a reliable key player off the bench.
Middlebrooks was a solid three-star prospect coming out of Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Westminster Academy. He picked Clemson over offers from Auburn, Dayton, Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Georgia, Iowa State, LSU, Maryland, Mississippi, Notre Dame, South Florida, Stetson, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
He had pondered being in the class of 2022, but went to Clemson in the the class of 2021 after playing for Each 1 Teach 1 in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League. His sister had played tennis at Clemson.
3. Horne had every connection known to man to NC State once he put his name in the portal.
• He’s local and played at Raleigh Leesville Road, Cary High and Fayetteville Trinity Christian. He played traveling ball with Garner Road on the adidas circuit.
• He went to Illinois State, where he played with Mahorcic, and he then transferred to Arizona State, where Joel Justus was his assistant coach for a year.
Players like Horne and Taylor fill crucial needs, if they join forces in Raleigh. NC State got a combined 3.9 points per game last year off the bench from guards L.J. Thomas and Breon Pass. By having a guard rotation of Morsell, Horne and Taylor, that means one of them will be a spark off the bench.
Horne averaged 12.5 points per game both years at Arizona State. He shot 36.9 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point land this season, with 203 of his 398 shots coming from beyond the arc.
Horne just had 20 points and went 4 of 5 on 3-pointers in the win over Nevada, and he had 17 points and went 4 of 5 on 3-pointers in the loss against TCU in the NCAA Tournament.
Horne could also fill in at point guard if called upon due to injuries or as a backup, and can guard point guards. He had 18 points and seven assists against top 10 Arizona in a 89-88 win Feb. 25, but he had 83 assists and 67 turnovers this season. However, his game is about getting floaters in the lane and deep bombs from outside.
The last time NC State had three proven wings was 2019-20 with C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels and Braxton Beverly. Bryce averaged 33.6 minutes per game, Daniels at 31.1 and Beverly at 24.8.
