An NC State basketball switcheroo, as Wolfpack adds another transfer portal player
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Because of the Carolina Hurricanes ongoing NHL playoff run, PNC Arena was set up for ice hockey rather than basketball Monday.
That didn’t matter to Mohamed Diarra, a 6-foot-10 transfer from Missouri who toured the NC State Wolfpack’s home basketball arena with head coach Kevin Keatts and the coaching staff.
Not long after their visit to the arena the teams share, Diarra said he’ll join the Wolfpack roster for next season.
Diarra posted his choice on social media, making him the fifth incoming transfer Keatts and the Wolfpack have landed this month. Diarra arrives with two years of eligibility available.
He joins guards DJ Horne (Arizona State), MJ Rice (Kansas), Jayden Taylor (Butler) and center Ben Middlebrooks (Clemson) in announcing a transfer to N.C. State for next season. That’s in addition to incoming freshmen Dennis Parker III, a 6-7 forward, and Tremayne Parker, a 6-2 guard.
Mahorcic enters portal
Keatts added Diarra to the Wolfpack’s roster for next season one day after Dusan Mahorcic entered his name in the transfer portal after he’d played in 10 games for N.C. State during an injury-shortened season.
On Friday, N.C. State compliance informed the 6-10 Mahorcic, who transferred from Utah to N.C. State last summer, that the ACC and NCAA had granted a medical hardship waiver making him eligible to play college basketball next season.
Having already played at the Division II and junior college levels before a season each at Illinois State, Utah and NC State, Mahorcic is looking for another school for next season.
So, in comes Diarra to provide additional depth in the frontcourt where the Wolfpack already returns 6-9, 275-pound center DJ Burns, 6-9 forward Ernest Ross and 7-1 center Isaiah Miranda. Middlebrooks and Diarra will compete with them for playing time.
Diarra played two seasons at Garden City (Kansas) Community College, where he was rated the nation’s No. 1 junior college recruit for the 2022 recruiting cycle. He joined Missouri, where he played in 25 games with six starts. Diarra averaged just 3.2 points and 3.3 rebounds.
