NC State working to bond as team with 8 newcomers 

Look around NC State’s practice gym at the Dail Basketball Center and there’s a handful of faces that aren’t familiar. 

The Wolfpack, which made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018 in March, brought in eight newcomers this season — seven transfers and a freshman. 

Coach Kevin Keatts and his staff were busy in the transfer portal, and when he sat down with the local media for the first time this fall on Thursday, that was on the top of his mind.

“[It’s] been a really busy offseason,” Keatts said. “I think our staff has done a tremendous job hitting the transfer portal, which we knew we had to do when we were going to lose so many important pieces that we had.”

The Wolfpack brought in Arizona State guard DJ Horne; Butler guard Jayden Taylor; North Carolina A&T guard Kam Woods — who needs a waiver to play this fall after his second transfer — Kansas guard MJ Rice; Stanford guard Michael O’Connell; and Missouri forward Mohamed Diarra via the transfer portal. 

Oh, and there’s guard Dennis Parker Jr., the team’s lone freshman. 

So there’s a lot of new faces on a team with an expectation of building off of its NCAA Tournament appearance. But Keatts looked at it as a positive.

“The advantage of this team is that they are new, so most of these guys are coming in as sponges and are excited from moving from that last stop to having the opportunity to play here in our style of play,” Keatts said. “A lot of them are grateful to be in the ACC.”

But with a team full of new players, that advantage is really a double-edged sword. Keatts and his staff have tried to work through that without an international trip. Instead, they’ve done more competition-based things in practice over the summer, including 5-on-5 with the same teams each day. 

The only newcomer not with the team is Rice, who released a statement on Tuesday saying he stepped away from the team for personal reasons, but is expected to return to the team soon. 

Thought Rice said he’d be back soon, Keatts said he didn’t have a timeline to share. 

“We do not have a time,” Keatts said of Rice’s return. “If you go back to his statement, he’s out for personal reasons, and it’s going to be on MJ when he decides to come back.”

As the Wolfpack get ready to kick off the first day of practice on Monday, Keatts said the team has worked to bond in different ways. There was a paintball trip, and they’ve tailgated together at NC State football games to better understand one another. 

“The more we can grow off the court, the better we’re going to be on the court,” Keatts said. “But we take every opportunity that we can just for these guys to be able to hang out and laugh with each other.”

For O’Connell, a New York native that moved back to the east coast after he spent his first two seasons at Stanford, the high number of new players is actually a positive when it comes to building relationships.

“Since everyone’s new, everyone’s willing to bond with each other,” O’Connell said. “At first, it’s a little awkward since you don’t know anything about anyone. But I think it’s easier when everyone’s new to build those bonds since you’re always asking questions about where you’re from, comparing different things from other schools.”

In addition to attending football games together, Keatts said NC State added two PlayStations to the team lounge, which already holds a ping pong table among rows of black leather couches and a snack area, in the facility to encourage bonding as well. 

But with a team full of hoopers, a lot of the bonding has happened on the practice court, even if the coaching staff isn’t present.

“I think it just comes with being with each other every day,” Taylor said. “When you’re around people a lot, you kind of learn them and start to figure them out. Just being with the guys every day makes it way easier on the court.”

Though there are a lot of new faces, most have played at the college level before, which has been helpful as the team meshes.

“I feel like everybody came in to play a specific role, and to be themselves,” Taylor said. “Everybody’s trying to be the best version of themselves that they can be each day.”

As the team nears its season, which opens against The Citadel on Nov. 6 inside PNC Arena, the bonding over the past few months will have paid dividends by that point.

“On the court, playing or pickup in general,” O’Connell said. “Or if we’re just hanging out, watching football games on the weekends, playing video games together. Small things like that can go a long way when you have a long season.”