The stories behind each NC State basketball player's jersey number

As NC State coach Kevin Keatts filled out his transfer portal haul this offseason, which ranked 18th nationally, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, there was a slight issue: three players he landed commitments from donned No. 0 at their previous stops.  Senior forward Dontrez Styles sported it at Georgetown, while redshirt junior guard Mike James did the same at Louisville and senior guard Marcus Hill tore up the Mid-America Conference in the digit at Bowling Green. The trio all wanted to wear No. 0, but only one player could wear it at NC State, so which of the three was going to get it? James, who wore the number in high school, quickly reached out to Styles over Instagram direct message asking if he could have it. Styles didn’t press back too hard.  “Being a good teammate, I let my boy have it,” Styles told TheWolfpacker.com with a laugh.  One down. One to go for James.  But when it came time to pick numbers in Raleigh, James was able to win the number since he was the first to commit between him and Hill.  “I had to fight for it,” James said with a smile, wearing his NC State No. 0 jersey on the Dail Basketball Center’s practice court recently.  Crisis averted. James ended up with his precious number, while Styles went with No. 3 and Hill picked No. 10.  Each player on the Wolfpack’s roster has a reason why they wear their respective jersey number on their back. All 15 players that will suit up for the Pack on a given night this season shared their stories with TheWolfpacker.com.