4/15/2020 basketball Edit

Hot board: Potential transfer targets for NC State (version II)

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

NC State basketball has been aggressive in trying to get involved with a variety of transfers.

Five players that NC State reached out to have already made their college decisions, but then the Wolfpack were quickly linked to three new potential options — two graduate transfers and one four-year transfer.

Trey Wertz (Notre Dame), Charles Minlend Jr. (Louisville), Ian DuBose (Wake Forest), Trey Murphy III (Virginia) and Jamarius Burton (Texas Tech) all heard from NC State, with Wertz claiming a scholarship offer, before picking other schools. The five were all products of North Carolina high schools with Wertz and Burton from Charlotte, DuBose and Murphy from Durham and Minlend from Concord.

The new wave doesn’t have any previous ties to the state of North Carolina.

Michigan sophomore center Colin Castleton left the Wolverines with two years of eligibility remaining. (AP Images)

Colin Castleton, Center, Michigan

Offers/interest: A reported 40-plus schools have reached out, with NC State head Kevin Keatts contacting Castleton. Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Butler, Cincinnati, Dayton, Xavier, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Stanford, UCF and Wichita State have reportedly expressed interest.

Stats: Castleton averaged 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 7.9 minutes per game this past season. He played in 25 out of 31 games.

The skinny: Castleton was offered by 15-plus colleges coming out of Daytona Beach (Fla.) Father Lopez High in the class of 2018. Michigan, Illinois, Purdue, Baylor, Florida, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Florida State were in the mix. However, he picked the Wolverines and was hoping to become the next Moe Wagner in Ann Arbor for then coach John Beilein. Castleton went on to average 24.5 points, 11.7 rebounds and 5.6 blocks his senior year at Father Lopez.

The 6-11, 235-pounder, whom Rivals.com ranked No. 89 overall in the country out of high school, received scant playing time his freshman year. Beilein left to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Michigan brought back legendary post player Juwan Howard as its new head coach.

Castleton’s playing time did increase during his sophomore season, but the Wolverines had five post players who logged more minutes this year.

Top 3 statistical games 2019-20:

• Castleton went 6 of 7 from the field for 14 points, and added three rebounds and two blocks, in 14 minutes in a 111-68 win over Houston Baptist on Nov. 22.

• Castleton went 5 of 7 from the field for 10 points in a 83-76 win over Iowa State on Nov. 27.

• He had a Big Ten-best five points in three games — Nebraska on Jan. 28, at Northwestern on Feb. 12 and at Rutgers on Feb. 19.

UAB junior post player Makhtar Gueye, left, graduated from the Blazers and is a graduate transfer candidate. (USA Today Sports)

Makhtar Gueye, Power Forward, UAB

Offers/interest: Virginia Tech, San Diego and Fairfield have offered Gueye, who would redshirt a year and then be eligible for one year. NC State, Georgetown, Miami, Mississippi State, South Florida, Vanderbilt and San Diego State have reached out.

Stats: The 6-10, 210-pound Gueye averaged 6.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 0.5 blocks in 24.5 minutes per game last season. He shot 40.6 percent from the field, 28.6 percent on three-pointers and 76.9 percent at the free-throw line and started 28 out of 32 games played.

The skinny: Gueye was a Rivals.com three-star prospect in the class of 2017, who picked UAB over Rutgers, DePaul, Old Dominion and Monmouth. He also claimed offers from Florida, Creighton, UConn, VCU and Marquette while in high school.

The Rufisque, Senegal, native attended Aspire Academy in Scottsdale, Ariz. Gueye averaged 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game his senior year before arriving at UAB and then head coach Rob Ehsan.

Gueye had a solid sophomore season, averaging 8.3 points and 6.7 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game. He had a three-game stretch of grabbing at least 11 rebounds and had a pair of double-doubles, including posting19 points and 11 boards in a 77-68 win over Marshall on Feb. 14, 2019. Gueye also had 12 points and 12 rebounds in a 69-62 loss vs. Charlotte on Feb. 9.

Gueye finished his sophomore season with 14 games of scoring at least 10 points, and eight contests of double-figures in rebounds.

Interestingly, Gueye played with former Raleigh Leesville Road point guard Jalen Benjamin, who is the son of former NC State guard Ishua Benjamin, this past season. The Blazers went 19-13 overall and 9-9 in CUSA, but Ehsan was let go. Former UAB star Andy Kennedy, who played his first year at NC State, was hired as the Blazers' new coach, and Gueye elected to transfer.

Top 3 statistical games 2019-20:

• Gueye totaled 15 points and seven rebounds in a 61-50 win over Marshall on Jan. 11.

• Gueye scored 14 points and notched three boards in a 79-66 victory at Middle Tennessee State on Feb. 15.

• He had 12 points, nine rebounds and a block in a 71-63 win over Alabama State on Dec. 21.

George Mason senior Justin Kier was granted a fifth year of eligibility and is pondering being a graduate transfer. (The Associated Press)

Justin Kier, Wing, George Mason

Offers/interest: Kier narrowed his list to 10 colleges — NC State, Arkansas, Butler, Georgia, Georgetown, Minnesota, Ole Miss, Auburn and Wake Forest. The graduate transfer also left the door open to return to George Mason.

Stats: Kier averaged 9.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 22.6 minutes per game, while playing nine contests for George Mason last year. He shot 46.4 percent from the field and 45.8 percent on three-pointers (11 of 24). Kier’s senior season came to an end Jan. 11 when he suffered a stress fracture in his right foot. He received a redshirt.

The skinny: The 6-4, 197-pound Kier was very much a sleeper in high school. He helped lead his Spotswood (Va.) High squad to a runner-up finish in the Group 3A state title his junior year.

Kier picked George Mason over Fairfield among others, and played with former NC State center Danny Dixon, and former Apex (N.C.) High wing Ian Boyd in 2016-17. Kier averaged 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in 27.7 minutes per game his freshman year. He also shot 38.6 percent from three-point land.

Kier went into a tough shooting slump his sophomore season — 8 of 46 on three-pointers for 17.4 percent — but he still averaged 11.0 points and 4.6 rebounds for the Patriots.

The slump was corrected during his junior campaign, and he was back to shooting 37.1 percent on three-pointers. He led GMU with 14.5 points per game and was second on the team with 6.5 rebounds a contest. He was named the Atlantic 10 Most Improved Player and second-team all-league.

Top 3 statistical games between 2018-20:

• Kier had 32 points, four rebounds and four steals in a 72-67 loss to Vermont on Dec. 3, 2018. He went 12 of 15 from the field and 2 of 4 on three-pointers.

• Kier totaled 26 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 61-56 home loss to Davidson on Jan. 9, 2019. He lived at the free-throw line, going 13 of 14.

• He notched 26 points, eight rebounds and five assists in a 61-57 win over George Washington in the second round of the Atlantic 10 tournament March 14, 2019. He went 10 of 14 from the field and 1 of 3 on three-pointers.