Offseason? It was relatively busy weekend for N.C. State basketball and its potential future, and former, players.
• McDonald's All-American forward Amile Jefferson has scheduled a press conference on Tuesday (4 p.m.) at his high school in Philadelphia to announce his college decision. Jefferson, ranked as the No. 25 prospect in the class by ESPN, has N.C. State, Duke, Kentucky, Ohio State and Villanova on his list.
Kentucky will pursue a third straight trip to the Final Four, and second straight national title, with at least one former N.C. State guard. There's a chance Julius Mays could make it two.
Mays, who transferred from N.C. State to Wright State in 2010, has a scholarship offer from Kentucky, he said Wednesday.
After a breakout season at Wright State, Mays, who will graduate from the Horizon League school in June, is also contemplating offers from Purdue, Michigan State and Illinois. Under NCAA rules, Mays can graduate and be immediately eligible for the upcoming 2012-13 season.
N.C. State needed Alex Johnson, after point guard Ryan Harrow transferred, and Johnson has quickly found a role with his new team.
"He's a leader," sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown said. "He has been real vocal in practice and workouts."
Ryan Harrow will follow in the footsteps of Derrick Rose and John Wall and play point guard for John Calipari.
The former N.C. State guard has announced his plans to transfer to Kentucky. He put the decision on his Twitter account on Wednesday night and also told the recruiting service Scout.com.
The bond between Sidney Lowe and Ryan Harrow was readily apparent before Harrow even stepped on campus last fall, just because of the way Lowe glowed when he talked about his relationship with Harrow last summer. There was something special there, obvious to everyone who heard either talk about it.
So it’s no real surprise that with Lowe gone, Harrow is leaving as well, as the rising sophomore today announced his intention to transfer.
Ryan Harrow said he's looking for the "best fit" for his college basketball career.
The point guard didn't say where that would be but it won't be N.C. State. Harrow announced his decision to leave the Wolfpack program on Tuesday.
The undersized (6-foot, 160 pounds) guard averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 assists in 29 games as a freshman. He had a strong bond with former coach Sidney Lowe, who resigned after a disappointing 15-16 record in 2010-11. Mark Gottfried was hired to replace Lowe on April 5.
N.C. State’s basketball players have never experienced the sort of coaching change they went through with Tuesday’s arrival of Mark Gottfried to replace Sidney Lowe.
Rejuvenated N.C. State takes a two-game ACC winning streak to Maryland on Sunday (5:30 p.m., FSN).
The downside for the Wolfpack is errant shooting, starting with freshman guards Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown.
Freshman guard Ryan Harrow played more minutes and was more productive than senior guard Javier Gonzalez for N.C. State in a 75-66 loss at Boston College on Tuesday night.
The freshman found himself on the bench for a key sequence in the second half, though, because of a defensive lapse, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said.
Down a 60-57 after a Tracy Smith beat Josh Southern in the post at 4:20, Boston College ran a high ball screen for senior guard Biko Paris. Harrow got lost on the screen and Paris drained an open 3 at 4:03 to tie the game at 60.
Freshman forward Travis McKie has been a bright spot for Wake Forest this season but he struggled in his ACC debut. McKie, who averages 13.6 points per game, scored eight points with four rebounds in 25 minutes.
He was held scoreless in the first half and really didn't put up any numbers until the Wolfpack had stretched out the lead to double-digits.
