NC State guard Mike James plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

NC State guard Mike James plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, On3’s Joe Tipton reported. James spent just one season with the Wolfpack and did play in all of 2024-25 as he recovered from a knee injury.

Prior to that, James played the first three seasons of his college career at Louisville. He still has two years of eligibility left after he also suffered a season-ending injury during his true freshman season with the Cardinals.

James would go on to return in 2022-23 and start all 32 games as a redshirt freshman at Louisville. He averaged 10.3 points per game to rank fourth among all freshmen in the ACC.

The 6-foot-5 wing would build upon that performance the following season to average 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds. He entered the portal after Louisville parted ways with coach Kenny Payne following another disappointing season in which it finished 8-24.

James played high school basketball at Oak Ridge in Orlando, where he was a four-star recruit. He ranked as the No. 80 overall player and No. 15 small forward in the 2021 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

When he entered the transfer portal last offseason, James ranked as the No. 160 overall player. Hopefully he can find the right fit and put his injury struggles behind him as he looks to return to the court in 2025-26.

NC State is coming off of a 12-19 finish this past season just one year removed from a Final Four appearance. The Wolfpack hired McNeese State coach Will Wade this offseason and will hope to get back to the tournament next year.

The college basketball transfer portal officially opened on Monday, March 24. It will remain open for 30 days until April 22. So far, 387 players have entered their name on the first day of the portal being open.

The college basketball transfer portal is starting to mirror the NBA’s free agency. Last spring alone, 1,962 Division I players tested the portal waters. Based on the early numbers from this year, even more could follow.

According to college basketball analytics expert Evan Miyakawa, for the first time in history, more than half of the points scored in Division I men’s college basketball will be scored by players recruited through the transfer portal, not from high school in 2024-25.

In data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows, the NCAA found most athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the portal opening. The study showed that 73% of men’s and women’s basketball undergraduate athletes entered during the first four weeks. That increased to 82% for men and 86% for women in 2024.