Could State Have Interest in Olivier Sarr?
NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts now has a scholarship available for the 2020-21 season after the departure of none-and-done recruit Josh Hall to the NBA on Thursday.
With the availability of top returning player D.J. Funderburk still uncertain as he also tests the waters of the NBA draft, it's almost a certainty that Keatts has stepped up his pursuit of possible insurance policies.
He began contacting potential recruits, both incoming and through the transfer route, even before Hall officially declared his decision to sign with an agent and stay in the draft via his Twitter account on Thursday.
But since then, a major potential addition has become available with news that third-team All-ACC big man Olivier Sarr has decided to enter the NCAA's transfer portal and plans to apply for a waiver that would allow him to play immediately.
At 7-feet tall, with a proven track record that includes averages of 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last season, Sarr figures to be one of, if not the most sought-after players on the transfer market this offseason nationally.
Sarr averaged 13 points and 8.5 rebounds while going 10 of 16 from the floor in two games against State last season, but is best remembered by Wolfpack fans for his inadvertent late-game collision that sent Jericole Hellems to the hospital on Dec. 7.
It would behoove Keatts to make a strong play for the Wake Forest star, who has left open the door to returning to the Deacons now that they've hired a new coach in Steve Forbes..
Assuming he is eligible to play next season either by waiver or in the unlikely event that a proposed one-time transfer rule is adopted by the NCAA in May, Sarr would strengthen an already solid Wolfpack frontcourt.
He would be especially valuable should Funderburk stay in the draft.
Though it is unusual, players transferring from one ACC school to another is not unprecedented. Already this offseason, Virginia Tech's Isaiah Wilkins has announced his intention to transfer to Wake.
Sarr would also need to receive a waiver from the conference to be able to play without sitting out a year under ACC guidelines, but given his ability and importance in filling whaat could be a gaping hole in State's's 2020-21 roster, bringing him to Raleigh would be a gamble worth taking.
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