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NC State G Mike James to enter transfer portal

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•about 22 hours•

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Mike James
(Photo courtesy of Mike James' Instagram).

NC State redshirt junior guard Mike James will enter the transfer portal, he told On3’s Joe Tipton. The former Louisville transfer has two years of eligibility remaining.

James is the third Wolfpack player to either enter the transfer portal or plan on doing so since Kevin Keatts was fired, joining forward Ben Middlebrooks and wing Dennis Parker Jr. NC State has six scholarships available for the 2025-26 campaign.

James, who underwent a knee scope just before the 2024-25 campaign began, did not set foot on the court for a game this season. It was described to be a two to four week injury, initially, but he did not fully participate in a practice after the surgery. 

The Orlando, Fla., native averaged 12.6 points with 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists last season at Louisville. He played in 33.3 minutes a night while shooting 39.6% from the floor, including 34% from beyond the arc. 

James was expected to be a key piece of what NC State was looking for this year, but the Wolfpack had to manage without him. He likely would have played on the wing for the Pack, taking some of the load off of senior guard Jayden Taylor. 

But instead, James donned a sweatsuit on the Wolfpack’s bench for the entirety of the campaign to this point.

Even though he was sidelined, James tried to make a return. He went through 1-on-1 workouts with the Wolfpack coaching staff, while he also jumped into a handful of contact drills. But the recovery was taking longer than expected and with just six games left in the season, the Wolfpack shut him down for good.

This marked the second time in the last four years that James was unable to play due to injury after he had a torn Achilles in his left leg just before his freshman season. 

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