Markell Johnson’s pre-trial hearing continued for second time

There is still no resolution in Markell Johnson’s legal case in Ohio. For the second time in as many weeks, his pre-trial hearing was continued, which means that he will at minimum miss NC State’s next two games. The pre-trial hearing has been pushed back to Tuesday, Jan. 16.

In the span of a few days and two games, NC State showed how much it can miss him and also how it can overcome his absence—first with the blowout loss at Notre Dame, then with the upset win over Duke. State’s performances without him will likely remain inconsistent, though probably not quite to those extremes.

Johnson has missed NC State’s last six games while in suspension purgatory as this legal case remains ongoing. State has split those contests. Johnson and three other men are facing felony assault charges stemming from an incident that took place back in October. Johnson has been suspended from the NC State basketball team since the middle of December.