NC State basketball roster takes shape. Could Terquavion Smith, Dereon Seabron return?

There have been a lot of moving parts around the N.C. State basketball program this offseason.

Lately, there have been more players coming in than leaving, slowing filling out the Wolfpack’s roster for next season.

Kevin Keatts has added four transfers in the past month, filling voids left by the four players he lost to the transfer portal.

Is Keatts done rounding out the roster? It all depends.

N.C. State has 12 scholarships available for the 2022-23 season. NCAA teams typically have 13, but the Pack is down one because of penalties issued to the program in December 2021 by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process (IARP) in response to a case that predated Keatts’ tenure. The team will go back to 13 scholarships for the 2023-24 season.

How many scholarships remain?

Following last week’s addition of transfer D.J. Burns (Winthrop), 10 of N.C. State’s scholarships are currently accounted for.

Terquavion Smith and Dereon Seabron — the Wolfpack’s top two scorers last season — entered their names in the NBA draft process. They’ll participate in this week’s NBA draft combine in Chicago.

Smith and Seabron have the option of returning to school. If they decide to, State’s scholarship count will be filled.

CBSSports.com has Smith ranked as the No. 46 prospect on its big board, while USAToday.com has Smith going No. 20 to the Spurs in its mock draft. NBADraft.net has Seabron as the No. 60 prospect on its board.

The feeling around the program is that Seabron, who would be a 22-year-old sophomore next season, won’t return. Depending on how the combine goes for Smith, he could also continue keep his name in the draft.

Both players will have until the end of the day on June 1 to withdraw from the draft if they want to play college basketball again.

If neither player returns, N.C. State will have two scholarships remaining.

Who is back?

As it stands currently, seven players — five on scholarship — are back, not counting Smith and Seabron.

The leading returning scorer from that group would be guard Casey Morsell (7.2 PPG). Morsell started 20 games a year ago. Forward Ebenezer Dowuona started 27 games, averaging 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 points per game.

If Smith and Seabron do not return, Morsell and Dowuona would be the only players back who have started at N.C. State. Reserve guard Breon Pass appeared in 25 games as a true freshman. His classmate, forward Ernest Ross, was showing promise when an ankle injury ended his season in January. Ross appeared in 14 games before the injury. Forward Greg Gantt missed the entire season with an injury, but should provide frontcourt depth.

Who are the new faces?

Guards Jack Clark and Jarkel Joiner, along with forwards Dusan Mahorcic and Burns all transferred to N.C. State

Clark (6-8, 200) averaged 11.0 points during his three seasons playing for La Salle. The Cheltenham, Pa. native played in 63 games and made 43 starts during his three years with the Explorers of the Atlantic 10. He started 23 games last season, averaging 12.0 points.

Clark will have two years of eligibility remaining in Raleigh. Last year he shot 30% from 3 and 39% from the floor and scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Duquesne.

Joiner, a point guard, comes to Raleigh from Ole Miss. Joiner started 41 of 50 games the last two season in Oxford, Miss., averaging double figures (12.0, 13.2) in both seasons.

A native of Oxford, Joiner averaged 35 points per game as a high school senior. He started his college career at Cal-State Bakersfield, where he played two seasons, starting in 61 games.

Mahorcic, a native of Serbia, previously played at Illinois State. He averaged 5.5 points per game for the Utes in 2021-22, appearing in 13 games.

Burns (6-9, 275) started 63 games for Winthrop. He played in 82 contests in three seasons for the Eagles.

The Rock Hill, S.C. native started his career at Tennessee where he took a redshirt season in 2018. After transferring to Winthrop, Burns was voted the Big South Conference Freshman of the Year for the 2019-20 season. That season he led the league in field goal percentage (.583) and set the school record for field goals made by a freshman (175).

Last season after averaging 15.0 points per game, while shooting 63% from the floor, Burns was named the Big South Conference Player of the Year. He has two more years of eligibility remaining.

Transfer portal need?

Burns and Mahorcic filled N.C. State’s need in the frontcourt. Pairing the two with Dowuona, Ross and Gantt gives Keatts way more frontcourt depth than he had last season.

Joiner and Pass can handle point guard duties, and freshman L.J. Thomas will add backcourt depth.

What Keatts would lose if Smith and Seabron don’t return would be wing scorers. Clark is capable, but N.C. State could use help there if Keatts has a spot, or two, to fill.

*Could return

**Walk-on

***Transfer