Omer Yurtseven’s departure leaves NC State with one open scholarship for 2018

Omer Yurtseven’s decision to leave NC State is disappointing but not surprising, and it means we can expect Kevin Keatts to make another addition to his roster prior to the start of the 2018 season. Yurtseven’s departure leaves 12 scholarship players on the current roster, one under the NCAA limit. (This is pending additional roster turnover, of course, which could lead to additional additions and so on and so on and so additional and so forth.)

As of now, the scholarship breakdown:

Senior (1) — Torin Dorn

Junior (2) — CJ Bryce (RS), Markell Johnson

Sophomore (5) — Braxton Beverly, Lavar Batts, Devon Daniels (RS), Derek Funderburk (JUCO), Blake Harris (RS; not eligible until spring ‘19)

Freshman (4) — Saddiq Bey, Manny Bates, Ian Steere, Jericole Hellems

While the foundation is well set for a couple years down the road, State will most likely try to improve on its immediate prospects with another graduate transfer addition to the team, and the obvious hole in the roster lies up front, where NC State currently has zero players with college basketball experience.

Now, all of the incoming bigs may end up college basketball legends—and as a reasonable fan, I anticipate and expect as much—but even so, they could use some veteran guidance in their first season. So I would watch for NC State to explore those options.

There is also a reason why NC State has continued to recruit guards this spring, so, y’know, stay tuned.