Transfers transform NC State, Alabama, and impact rest of men’s Final Four, too

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North Carolina State coach Kevin Keatts had to build a winning program playing in the same conference and state as perennial powers Duke and North Carolina, so he had to be different.

Bringing in transfers is an all-too-familiar sight across college hoops. Keats set himself apart from his ACC rivals building almost an entire roster with transfers. Nine of NC State’s 13 scholarship players this season came from different colleges.

It’s safe to say Keats went all in with the transfer portal – and it paid off big time with a surprising Final Four run in this year’s NCAA tournament.

The 11th-seeded Wolfpack (26-14) were heading in the wrong direction with seven losses in the last nine regular season games, including four straight losses before the ACC tournament. But NC State is on a nine-game win streak heading into Saturday’s national semifinal game vs. Purdue.

“When basketball starts and you got a bunch of new dudes, it takes a long time,” Keats said earlier in the NCAA tournament. “It took us a while to get to where we are.”

The top seven scorers for the Wolfpack and their entire starting five are transfers, including 6-9, 275-pound fan favorite D.J. Burns Jr. from Winthrop, and leading scorer D.J. Horne from Arizona State.

The other three Final Four teams are relying on transfers as well.

Alabama has six transfers, including four starters. Ohio transfer Mark Sears had 23 points in the Elite Eight win vs. Clemson. North Dakota transfer Grant Nelson had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks in the Sweet 16 vs. North Carolina.

Defending national champion UConn has three transfers on its roster, including top scorers Tristen Newton (East Carolina) and Cam Spencer (Rutgers). Newton, who started on last year’s team that won it all, now leads the Huskies in scoring (15.0) and assists (6.1).

Purdue coach Matt Painter’s philosophy has long been to build a team the traditional route with freshmen. He found an experienced starting guard in the portal, in Lance Jones from Southern…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/transfers-transform-nc-state-alabama-163700517.html

Author : Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Publish date : 2024-04-05 16:37:00

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