NC State adds FIU graduate transfer wing Eric Lockett

Kevin Keatts continues to re-shape the NC State basketball roster, this time with the addition of graduate transfer Eric Lockett. Jeff Goodman had the initial report. Lockett left Florida International last month amid the school’s coaching change and will be eligible immediately. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists as junior this past season.

NC State will be Lockett’s fourth college—after beginning his career at George Mason, he transferred to a junior college, then landed at FIU. He missed the majority of his freshman season with an injury but earned a medical redshirt.

His final season with FIU was a breakout year for him, as he assumed both heavy minutes and a heavy workload for the first time in his college career. The vast majority of his attempts came from inside the arc, where he connected on about 49% of his attempts. He made only 12 of 41 three-point tries (29.3%) and is a career sub-30% outside shooter. So I would not expect that to be a strength of his this upcoming season.

He rebounded well at the defensive end last season and has been a pretty good distributor throughout his career. Where he’ll fit into the Wolfpack rotation is tough to figure, but his frame (6-5, 200) will allow him to fill multiple roles. Especially if he keeps up the defensive rebounding.