5/2/2021 basketball Edit

A look ahead at NC State basketball's 2021-22 roster

Justin H. Williams • TheWolfpackCentral

Staff Writer

Confused about who exactly will be on the 2021-2022 NC State basketball roster? Don't worry, you're not alone.

Several factors this offseason have left college basketball fans lacking the knowledge of who exactly will suit up for their favorite teams next season.

The first reason is that the NCAA will not count the 2020-21 season toward a winter athlete's four years of eligibility limit. That means seniors who would normally be forced to move on after four seasons of competition will have the option to return in 2021-22. Underclassmen that were already planning to return will still have the option to do so, and their class rank will remain the same next year as it has been the past several months this season.

NC State Wolfpack basketball Jericole Hellems — Junior forward Jericole Hellems averaged 12.9 points per game in 2020-21. (Associated Press)

Seniors that decide to return for a fifth season of college basketball will not count toward the scholarship limit of their original teams. That means if a senior decides to move on or transfer, it will not open up a scholarship for a program.

What's making rosters even more difficult to keep up with is how many players are transferring between programs. The transfer portal is more active than ever this spring because the NCAA is expected to grant a waiver for transfers. That means that non-graduate athletes that would normally have to sit out for one season after transferring will be able to immediately suit up for a new team as soon as next season.

The transfer portal already has a record-breaking four-figure total of names in it as of April 13. Like almost every team in the country, NC State has already been impacted.

Three Wolfpack players have entered the portal, including senior guard Braxton Beverly (who is going to Eastern Kentucky), freshman guard Shakeel Moore (who was the most recent to announce Friday) and freshman forward Nick Farrar (who selected College of Charleston). The Pack also picked up commitments from Providence transfer forward Greg Gantt Jr. and Virginia transfer guard Casey Morsell, who will both have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Each Division I basketball team has a limit of 13 scholarships per squad. Of the 13 NC State players on scholarship, there are seven guards, four forwards and two centers.

Here is an updated look at how the 2021-22 NC State basketball roster is shaping up as of April 13:

Transferring out

Senior guard Braxton Beverly (6-0, 185 pounds)

Beverly became the 50th player in NC State program history to join the 1,000-point club this season. A four-year starter for the Wolfpack, Beverly has a career three-point shooting average of 37.0 percent.

He will indeed play a fifth year of college basketball, but he is transferring to Eastern Kentucky, which is closer to his hometown of Hazard, KY. EKU is also coached by former Pack assistant A.W. Hamilton, who was Beverly's prep coach at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., so the move makes sense for Beverly.

Freshman guard Shakeel Moore (6-1, 180 pounds)

Moore consistently showed flashes of why NC State head coach Kevin Keatts called him "the steal" of the 2020 class.

A former four-star, Moore averaged 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 18.6 minutes per game last season. He was also one of the Pack's best on-ball defenders in the backcourt but only earned a start in two games while appearing in every contest in 2020-21.

Freshman forward Nick Farrar (6-6, 260 pounds)

Farrar was a three-star forward prospect out of Apex, N.C. in the 2020 class. He was the No. 32 Power Forward in the class according to Rivals.

Farrar didn't see much time on the floor, so his departure is understandable. The freshman made just seven appearances in 2020-21 and averaged 3.3 minutes per game. As previously noted, he has picked College of Charleston.

Departing seniors

Fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk (6-10, 225 pounds)

Funderburk leaving was no surprise, but it only became official in the past week.

The Wolfpack big had an emotional press conference following the Pack's departure from the NIT, citing he wouldn't have had a different group of guys with which to "play his last game."

Last week, it was announced that Funderbyrk signed with Athletes Sports Management according to the company's Instagram and Twitter accounts, effectively ending his Wolfpack career.

Because Athletes Sports Management is not an NCAA-certified agency, the signing means that Funderburk will no longer have eligibility.

Funderburk was NC State's third-leading scorer (12.6 points per game) and second-leading rebounder (5.6) last season. He started in 13 of his 21 appearances in 2020-21 and averaged 26.2 minutes per game.

Seniors with the option to return (No official decisions yet)

Fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels (6-5, 200 pounds)

Daniels is the lone senior left from last season's roster that has yet to indicate whether or not he will return for another year.

The potential wildcard with Daniels was his unfortunate injury in 2020-21. The former Utah transfer suffered a season-ending ACL tear in late January, which abruptly ended what was trending toward an All-ACC campaign for the guard. Daniels led the Pack in scoring (16.5), assists (3.1) and steals (1.9) at the time of his injury.

Returning players

Junior forward Jericole Hellems (6-7, 205 pounds)

Hellems will be the Pack's top returning scorer next season if Daniels decides to move on elsewhere.

The versatile forward averaged 12.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game in 2020-21. He was also among the Wolfpack's best options from the perimeter. Hellems' 38.3 percent three-point shooting was good for second on the team among players with at least 10 attempts.

Redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen (6-1, 180 pounds)

Allen was another victim of a season-ending injury in 2020-21. After starting in 15 of his 17 appearances for the Wolfpack last season, Allen was sidelined after mid-February due to an ankle sprain.

The Raleigh native was a Nebraska transfer that had to sit out in 2019-20. In his debut season at NC State, Allen averaged 7.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 37.9 percent from beyond the arc and 78.9 percent from the free-throw line.

Redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates (6-11, 230 pounds)

The athletic rim protector was the unanimous pick for "Most Improved" in the 2020-21 Wolfpacker awards.

Bates has always been a great defender with elite shot-blocking ability. The Pack big man led the ACC in blocks per game for the second straight season in 2020-21.

But his biggest improvement was on the offensive end, where he turned into a consistent scorer in the low post. Bates averaged 9.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per contest last season after starting in 23 of his 24 appearances in 2020-21.

Freshman guard Cam Hayes (6-3, 175 pounds)

Hayes was the unanimous pick for "Rookie of the Year" in the 2020-21 Wolfpacker awards. The four-star point guard in the 2020 class made quite the splash in his first three collegiate contests after producing 16 assists and just three turnovers, but he began to show signs of his youth once conference play started up after the Pack's December COVID pause sidelined him for three weeks.

Hayes averaged 7.8 points, 3.1 assists (team-high), 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 steals in 23.6 minutes per game last season. He earned a start in 14 of his 23 appearances in 2020-21.

Redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron (6-7, 180 pounds)

Seabron struggled in limited minutes off of the bench for most of last season but showed off his potential beginning in late February once he began appearing in the starting lineup.

The lengthy wing finished the campaign averaging 5.2 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.0 minutes per game. However, Seabron finished with double-figure scoring totals in three of the Wolfpack's last five games of the regular season.

He was named ACC Freshman of the Week after producing his first-career double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds in the Pack's road win over Notre Dame in the regular-season finale.

Freshman forward Jaylon Gibson (6-9, 210 pounds)

Of the three freshman forwards, Gibson earned the most time on the floor, averaging 5.0 minutes per game in 16 appearances.

The 2020 three-star out of Apex, N.C. averaged 0.9 points and 0.8 rebounds per game in 2020-21.

Freshman center Ebenezer Dowuona (6-11, 235 pounds)

Dowuona was the highest-touted of the three freshman bigs after being ranked the No. 37 center in the 2020 class according to Rivals. Dowuona missed crucial time, however, during the Pack's December COVID pause and was unavailable due to injury in NC State's NIT quarterfinals loss to Colorado State.

Dowuona averaged 0.6 points and 0.9 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game in nine appearances in 2020-21.

Transferring in

Providence transfer sophomore forward Greg Gantt (6-8, 220 pounds)

Gantt, a 6-8, 220-pound sophomore, averaged 4.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game for the Friars in 2020-21.

A former four-star that was the No. 55 overall prospect in the 2019 class according to Rivals, Gantt was originally a Wolfpack target out of Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville, N.C. before committing to Providence out of high school.

Virginia transfer sophomore forward Casey Morsell (6-3, 196 pounds)

Morsell started in 16 of his 53 appearances over two seasons with the Cavaliers.

He was a four-star prospect that was the No. 11 shooting guard and No. 49 overall recruit in the 2019 class. Morsell averaged 4.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game over two seasons in Charlottesville.