Al Freeman transfers to NC State

Graduate transfer Al Freeman officially visited NC State on April 8-9 and liked enough of what he saw to verbally commit to the Wolfpack on Wednesday.

Freeman will be eligible right away at NC State after graduating in four years at Baylor. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound shooting guard redshirted his first year due to a preseason wrist injury. He picked NCSU over Pittsburgh, which he officially visited this past weekend.

Freeman helped Baylor go 73-30 the last three years with three trips to the NCAA Tournament. He went a combined 6 for 18 en route to 25 points in 58 minutes between the wins over New Mexico State and USC and the loss to South Carolina during Baylor's Sweet 16 run this year. Overall on the season, he averaged 9.4 points and 1.2 assists per game, and shot 42.8 percent from the field and 38.9 percent on three-pointers.

The Charlotte, N.C., native is looking for a fresh start after getting suspended for three Big 12 games and then was benched for a fourth game during the middle of the conference slate. He subsequently lost his starting spot down the stretch, but came off the bench to drain a season-high 21 points in the first round of the NCAA Tournament against New Mexico State.

Freeman started his prep career at Charlotte United Faith Christian Academy, coming off the bench on a North Carolina Independent Schools 1A state title winner. He then transferred to Charlotte Olympic for his sophomore and junior year of high school. He finished up at famed Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep.

Freeman also played for a variety of traveling teams, including Nike Team Florida and Boo Williams his last two years. On the latter, he formed the backcourt with future NC State point guard Anthony "Cat" Barber. Rivals.com ranked Freeman the No. 81 overall player in the country in the class of 2013.

The addition of Freeman and Concord (N.C.) Robinson High senior point guard Lavar Batts Jr. gives NC State protection against any potential backcourt attrition. Freeman would be competing with shooting guard Terry Henderson for minutes, if the latter receives a waiver from the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility.

NC State pursued Freeman out of high school, with former head coach Mark Gottfried offering him after he was hired in April 2011. Freeman eventually picked UCLA over Villanova, Kansas and Ohio State among others. When the Bruins fired head coach Ben Howland, Freeman opened up his recruitment and selected Baylor over Xavier and Minnesota.

New NC State coach Kevin Keatts currently has two available scholarships if every player on the roster returns intact. In addition to Henderson's waiver for a sixth season, freshman center Omer Yurtseven has entered his name into the NBA Draft but not signed with an agent. That leaves him eligible to withdraw from the draft and return to school. Mock drafts have suggested Yurtseven is a potential second round draft choice.

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