NC State point guard Blake Harris ruled eligible immediately; Manny Bates to redshirt

NC State announced Tuesday afternoon that incoming transfer guard Blake Harris will be eligible to play immediately this fall, despite having participated during the fall semester at Missouri last season. NCSU filed a waiver on Harris’ behalf, with the support of his former school.

Unfortunately, we will not see freshman forward Manny Bates on the floor with Harris this season. Bates is going to redshirt this season after undergoing surgery on a dislocated shoulder. He suffered that injury at the beginning of August, per the school.

That shrinks NC State’s front court to three players—Ian Steere, DJ Funderburk, Wyatt Walker—for the season. (Unless you want to count Jericole Hellems here.) Tough loss.

NC State will be able to compensate with a lot of depth at guard and on the wings and play more small ball, if necessary. Having Harris out of the gate will also help his development quite a bit—he’ll get a lot of valuable experience during non-conference play rather than having to wait for January and being thrown right into league play.