North Carolina State Wolfpack

2023-2024 Result: 26-15 record (9-11 ACC) ACC Tournament Champions, 11 seed, Final Four appearance

Projected Starting Lineup

Head Coach: Kevin Keatts (8th season

Guard: Michael O’Connell (5th year)

Guard: Jayden Taylor (SR)

Guard: Dennis Parker Jr. (SO)

Forward: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (SR)

Forward: Ben Middlebrooks (SR)

Key Additions

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

Mike James (Louisville)

Dontrez Styles (Georgetown)

Paul McNeil (4-star recruit)

Key Losses

Mohamed Diarra

DJ Burns

DJ Horne

Casey Morsell

The Wolfpack lost a lot of their core from last year’s surprise final four run, these losses will not impact them too much on the defensive end of the floor (58th Adjusted Defense last season, per Torvik). Losing Mo Diarra is obviously huge from a defense and rebounding standpoint, but Kevin Keatts did a nice job finding a replacement in Brandon Huntley-Hatfield. He is certainly not the versatile defender that Diarra was, but Huntley-Hatfield can control the defensive glass alongside Ben Middlebrooks, who is also stepping into a bigger role this upcoming season. The Wolfpack also have solid wing depth that will be able to hold their own defensively. Although incoming transfers Dontrez Styles and Mike James aren’t known for their defensive prowess, the positional size and length should help this defense. Dennis Parker Jr will also help bring wing depth.   

The side of the floor that brings more worries is the offense, as it will be difficult to replace D.J. Burns and DJ Horne. Guys like Jayden Taylor, Michael O’Connell and Bowling Green transfer Marcus Hill are going to have a lot on their shoulders in the creation department and I am not so sure they are ready for it. Coach Keatts gives his playmakers a lot of freedom, and when he has the stars to create advantages the offense looks really good, but it will be interesting to see how this offense plays out when the creation is lacking. A few things that should keep this offense away from disaster are the floor spacing on the wing and offensive rebounding ability in the frontcourt. 

The lack of a true star is certainly the biggest concern with the Wolfpack, and that will ultimately be their downfall when trying to compete with the top of the ACC. The major roster turnover will be a little too much for this squad to overcome on the offensive end and while I still have NC State in the middle of the pack in the ACC, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they fell towards the bottom.