NC State basketball roster outlook for 2023-24: Final version?

The NC State basketball season ended with a loss to Creighton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. With the transfer portal humming, there was no rest for the weary. NC State head coach Kevin Keatts and his assistants quickly got to work on next year’s roster.

Here is how the NC State basketball roster is currently configured for the 2023-24 season:

Guards

Terquavion Smith, NC State’s star sophomore guard, confirmed the expected when he announced that he was turning pro.

Smith was a second-team All-ACC pick this past season and led the Wolfpack in scoring at 17.9 points per contest. He also paced NC State with 140 assists and 49 steals.

Smith eclipsed 1,000 career points during the season, putting him on a pace that would have made him one of the all-time leading scorers in NC State basketball history had he stayed for four years. His career average of 17.1 points per game is the eighth highest of all time in the program.

His 187 career three-pointers also rank eighth at NC State.

Jarkel Joiner has exhausted his eligibility. The second-team All-ACC performer was arguably the Pack’s MVP this season after averaging 17.0 points per contest while committing just 49 turnovers in 34 games and playing a team-high 35.8 minutes per contest.

Joiner led NC State in scoring during ACC play at 17.3 points per contest and was 64 of 70 from the free throw line against conference teams.

Jayden Taylor is transferring to NC State basketball after his sophomore season at Butler in the Big East. Taylor led the Bulldogs in scoring at 12.9 points per game. He also contributed 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 assists while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 32.6 percent beyond the arc.

Taylor scored 18 points in a Butler loss to NC State in the Bahamas in November. He shot 5 of 8 from the field, including 4 of 6 on threes, against Sweet 16-bound Tennessee to score 18 points in the opener of that tournament.

On3’s basketball transfer portal rankings had Taylor rated No. 8 among available combo guards, and he picked the Pack after also officially visiting Arkansas.

DJ Horne is a grad transfer addition from Arizona State. He helped the Sun Devils reach the NCAA Tournament by averaging 12.5 points and 2.4 assists per game last season.

Horne has proven to be a good shooter in four years of college basketball, including two at Illinois State and the past two at ASU. He has made 253 threes at a 37.9 percent clip. He had eight games with at least four three-pointers last season.

Horne was rated the No. 18 available combo guard in the transfer portal by On3.

Casey Morsell has an extra season of eligibility left due to the COVID rule that added a year for everyone playing in 2020-21. He enjoyed a breakout campaign last season, averaging 11.8 points per contest and shooting 78 of 190 (41.1 percent) on threes. Morsell was second on the team in both three-pointers made and shooting percentage beyond the arc.

Morsell has entered his name to go through the NBA Draft process but also maintained his collegiate eligibility.

At point guard, four options will likely vie for playing time.

Stanford transfer Michael O’Connell started the bulk of the past three seasons for the Cardinal, averaging 6.3 points and 3.2 assists per game in his time in the Pac-12. He ended his Cardinal career ranked 15th all-time in assists in program history.

He committed to NC State on May 14 after also visiting Wichita State.

On3 rates O’Connell, who has two seasons of eligibility left, as the No. 36 available point guard in the transfer portal.

Rookie LJ Thomas had the team’s highest three-point shooting percentage at 47.4 percent after he made 9 of 19 treys. He played in 30 of 34 games, averaging 9.5 minutes per contest. He contributed 2.4 points per game.

Breon Pass played a reserve role for the second straight year, although he played more frequently in games (30 versus 25 as a rookie). He averaged 1.5 points.

Besides O’Connell, the other addition to the backcourt is Trey Parker, a Fayetteville, N.C., native playing at Overtime Elite in Atlanta, which is a semi-pro league for high schoolers that allows participants to maintain collegiate eligibility. In 19 games, the high-flying Parker averaged 12.1 points, 2.8 boards, 2.3 steals and 2.2 assists.

The On3 Industry Ranking for Parker has him rated No. 87 nationally in the 2023 class.

NC State’s Backcourt Roster For 2023-24

Name	Year*	Height, Weight	Hometown	2022-23 Stats
DJ Horne	Sr.	6-1, 175	Cary, N.C.	34 starts, 12.5 ppg
Casey Morsell	Sr.	6-3, 200	Ft. Washington, Md.	34 starts, 11.8 ppg
Michael O’Connell	Sr.	6-2, 195	Mineola, N.Y.	28 starts, 5.2 ppg, 3.1 apg (at Stanford)
Breon Pass	Jr.	6-0, 175	Reidsville, N.C.	30 games, 1.5 ppg
Trey Parker	Fr.	6-1, 165	Fayetteville, N.C.	—
Jayden Taylor	Jr.	6-4, 195	Indianapolis, Ind.	32 games, 12.9 ppg (at Butler)
LJ Thomas	So.	6-2, 205	Plant City, Fla.	30 games, 2.0 ppg

* — Year is based on players’ 2023-24 classification

Forwards And Centers

NC State basketball lost four frontcourt players to the transfer portal.

Ebenezer Dowuona returned to a primary reserve role after being forced into a starting role a year ago. Dowuona averaged 1.7 points and 1.9 rebounds in 2022-23 while blocking 26 shots in 30 games and averaging 10.9 minutes per contest. He entered his name into the portal and picked Georgia Tech.

Jack Clark, who like Morsell has an extra season of eligibility available because of the COVID year, also hopped into the portal. He has since announced he will play for Clemson. Clark missed 11 games due to injury, but was effective when he did play, averaging 9.0 points and 6.9 boards while making 28 threes, albeit at just a 28.9 percent clip.

Greg Gantt and Ernest Ross split the power forward duties while Clark was absent. Gantt, however, entered the transfer portal and will play for UNC Asheville next season. Gantt missed games early in the year with a knee injury and then was sidelined for the last two contests after getting hurt in the ACC Tournament opener. He averaged 2.0 points and 4.5 boards.

Ross played all 34 games and averaged 3.5 points and 2.5 boards while finishing second on the team with 27 blocked shots.

Dusan Mahorcic averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 rebounds in 10 games (9 starts) before dislocating his patella and missing the remainder of the year. Mahorcic was granted a waiver for an extra season and decided to enter the transfer portal.

The other departure from the NC State basketball roster is Isaiah Miranda. He redshirted after enrolling midyear. Following reclassifying into the 2022 class, the 7-footer was rated at No. 40 nationally in the On3 Industry Rankings. Miranda, like Morsell, entered his name into the NBA Draft and then into the portal.

D.J. Burns Jr. has confirmed his return to NC State. He was platooning with Mahorcic before his injury, averaging 20.9 minutes per game. In Mahorcic’s absence, Burns saw increased playing time and finished the year averaging 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 22.9 minutes, shooting 56.1 percent from the field. He has one more season with the Wolfpack.

In conference play, Burns was notably effective, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 boards while shooting 56.6 percent from the field. He was named honorable mention All-ACC.

Adding depth is the addition of two transfers, including rising junior Ben Middlebrooks from Clemson. Listed at 6-foot-10.5, 242 pounds on the official Clemson roster, Middlebrooks was one of just three Tigers to play in all 34 games last year, making seven starts in the process.

He averaged 11.3 minutes, 3.1 points and 2.7 boards per game while shooting 48.0 percent from the field for the season. In ACC play, Middlebrooks had averages of 11.0 minutes, 3.4 points and 2.8 boards.

On3 ranks Middlebrooks as the No. 38 power forward in the transfer portal.

Also arriving is junior Mohamed Diarra, who played in 25 games and made six starts for a Missouri team that reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Diarra averaged 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds overall, but his production improved in SEC games during the regular season to 4.8 points and 4.6 boards in 15.3 minutes per cation.

Mahorcic was playing 20.9 minutes per game before getting hurt. If Middlebrooks doubled his playing time and production, his potential averages of 6.2 points and 5.4 rebounds (6.8 and 5.6 in ACC play) would not be far off from Mahorcic’s contributions.

Similarly, Diarra would have averaged around 6.4 points and 6.6 boards in Mahorcic’s playing time.

NC State has also added former McDonald’s All-American MJ Rice from the transfer portal. Where to place the 6-foot-5, 215-pound Rice is tricky, but most analysts view him as a small forward who is capable of playing on the wing or even a four in the small ball lineup.

Rice was the No. 29 prospect in the 2022 class in the On3 Industry Rankings. As a freshman at Kansas, the native of Henderson, N.C., averaged 2.2 points in 7.5 minutes through 23 games.

On3 rated Rice the No. 45 small forward in the transfer portal.

Dennis Parker Jr., a four-star recruit from John Marshall High in Richmond, Va., signed with NC State basketball in November, joining Trey Parker. In 25 games as a senior, Dennis Parker averaged 20.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per contest while shooting 57.4 percent from the field.

The On3 Industry Ranking has Parker rated No. 100 nationally in the 2023 class.

NC State’s Frontcourt Roster for 2023-24

Name	Year*	Height, Weight	Hometown	2022-23 Stats
DJ Burns Jr.	R-Sr.	6-9, 275	Rock Hill, S.C.	34 games, 12.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Mohamed Diarra	Sr.	6-10, 215	Montreuil, France	25 games, 3.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg (at Missouri)
Ben Middlebrooks	Jr.	6-10.5, 242	Fort Lauderdale, Fla.	34 games, 3.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg (at Clemson)
Dennis Parker Jr.	Fr.	6-7, 175	Richmond, Va.	—
MJ Rice	Soph.	6-5, 215	Henderson, N.C.	23 games, 2.2 ppg, 1.0 rpg (at Kansas)
Ernest Ross	Jr.	6-9, 195	Alachua, Fla.	34 games, 3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg

* — Year is based on players’ 2023-24 classification

NC State Basketball Scholarship Count

Due to the NCAA’s ruling from the IARP committee on the case involving the recruitment of Dennis Smith Jr., NC State lost a scholarship in 2022-23, but that returns to the team this coming season, increasing the limit back to 13.

NC State is currently at 13 scholarships. As noted, Morsell has entered the NBA Draft but will be maintaining his eligibility. If he stays in the draft, that number gets reduced.