Keatts Excited About Harris Addition
NC State received some big news on Wednesday when Missouri point guard transferred Blake Harris announced that he would be enrolling at NC State. Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts confirmed the addition to the media on Wednesday afternoon.
"We are excited," Keatts said of the Harris addition. "Blake is an unbelievable talent. What's great about it is we get a chance to get a young man from this area that will be a really good basketball player for us.
"I think he adds a lot of depth for us, especially at the guard spot, and that's the way we'll play in the future."
Harris has been admitted to NC State and is set to enroll, but won't start practicing for a few days.
"He probably won't get on the floor until he's cleared through all the medical stuff," Keatts said. "[Probably] next week sometime."
At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, Harris averaged 3.8 points, 3.3 assists, 2.4 rebounds, and a steal in 13.9 minutes per game for the Tigers. He will sit out the spring and fall semester before being eligible for conference play as a sophomore next spring.
He will be able to participate with the scout team in practice, where he'll join guards Devon Daniels and C.J. Bryce, who are sitting out after transferring in from Utah and UNC Wilmington respectively.
The trio should only make the current roster that much more prepared for the rigors of the ACC.
"We've had a really good, competitive scout team when you talk about Devon Daniels and CJ Bryce," Keatts said. "Now we'll have three really good players who for the most part can beat our guys in practice and prepare them for ACC play.
"I'm excited to see that extra dimension that we add to those two guys."
There has been some speculation that adding Harris means NC State's not optimistic about the chances Markell Johnson will play again for the Wolfpack. However, Keatts stated that is not the case at all and had no update on Johnson's legal situation.
"It has nothing to do with Markell's situation," he said of Harris. "Blake is an incredible talent. We recruited him before he went out to Missouri. After we sat down and talked with him and his family we felt like it was the best situation for the both of us."
