Rodney Purvis departs NC State

NC State freshman shooting guard Rodney Purvis ended up being a one-and-done with the Wolfpack, but not in the way anyone imagined.

The Rivals.com No. 12-ranked player in the class of 2012 had hoped to make a big splash at NC State this season, and was voted the ACC preseason rookie of the year by the media.

Purvis and NC State parted ways last week following a meeting with coach Mark Gottfried as first reported on the premium The State of Basketball message board. However, some optimism remained that the two sides could rekindle their relationship. Purvis elected to attend junior point guard Lorenzo Brown's press conference on going to the NBA, and hope was still alive.

Instead, the news came out Monday that Purvis would be officially leaving NC State, as first reported by Joe Giglio of the Raleigh News & Observer. NC State started offseason workouts Monday.

Purvis averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, and shot 38.5 percent from three-point land, but struggled at the free-throw line at 51.2 percent.

Purvis started 23 of 35 games, but was replaced in the starting lineup by fellow freshman T.J. Warren on Feb. 19 against Florida State. Purvis still played at least 19 minutes in six of the last 10 games, highlighted by a career-high 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting in a 82-64 win over Boston College on Feb. 27.

Purvis, who picked NC State over UConn, will have three years of eligibility remaining. The Wolfpack vigorously fought last summer to have him eligible this season, when the NCAA called into question his classes at Raleigh Upper Room Christian Academy, which is now a K-through-5 school.

Purvis originally committed to Louisville and went from the class of 2013 back to his normal class of 2012. Following changes to the Cardinals assistant coaches, he opened up his recruitment, which coincided with Gottfried replacing Sidney Lowe. The latter didn't pursue Purvis overly hard, but the coaching change helped change the relationship with the hometown star.

Gottfried and assistant coach Orlando Early aggressively pursued Purvis, and when Duke decided to go in a different direction, the Wolfpack landed their key target Sept. 30, 2011.

Purvis went on to earn a spot in the McDonald's All-American Game, and was MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte last April.