Is this just the beginning for the Pack? Five questions for NC State basketball

For all the success N.C. State basketball had this season, returning to relevancy in Kevin Keatts' first season as head coach, changes are coming to the roster .

The Wolfpack says goodbye to four players whose eligibility has expired -- forwards Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman, plus guards Allerik Freeman and Sam Hunt.

Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven finished his otherwise solid season on a down note, fouling out after scoring only two points and grabbing two rebounds in Thursday’s 94-83 NCAA tournament loss to Seton Hall. That doesn’t mean, however, he won’t have the opportunity to leave school for professional basketball if he so chooses.

The incoming class of recruits, plus the three guards who will become eligible after sitting out under NCAA transfer rules, mean fans should expect the 2018-19 Wolfpack to be more in line with Keatts’ vision for his team.

Expect more of the four-guard, one-big sets N.C. State utilized late in the season rather than the lineups that featured two big men (Yurtseven and Abu) in the earlier months.

The team went 21-12 overall, 11-7 in the ACC and earned an NCAA tournament berth this season. Keatts hopes that's just a start.

Here are five questions to ponder for the offseason

1. What impact with the new transfers have?

Plenty. C.J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington) and Devon Daniels (Utah) practiced all season with the Wolfpack and will be eligible from the start of the season. Blake Harris transferred from Missouri in January, which means he won’t be eligible until the fall semester ends. He also practiced with the team the last two months.

Bryce played for Keatts before so there’s a strong trust factor there. Both he and Daniels are shooting guards, while Harris is a point guard. One can envision all three playing together once ACC play arrives.

2. Will there be enough minutes for all those guards?

This is where Keatts’ background at Hargrave Military Academy will help. He regularly had nine or 10 Division I recruits on this roster so he had to get them all playing time. He was wildly successful in doing so.

Markell Johnson had a solid sophomore season for the Wolfpack, averaging 7.3 assists per game. He also led the team in steals (44) despite missing seven games while suspended. He has high value and, with Harris not eligible until late December, will see minutes at point guard early.

Braxton Beverly averaged 32.4 minutes per game as a freshman. He won’t need to play nearly that many minutes as a sophomore and that will make him a more effective player.

Lavar Batts is the player who might get squeezed out. He only played 13.2 minutes per game as a freshman . It’s hard to see him being a major factor going forward.

Two of the incoming freshmen, Saddiq Bey and Jericole Hellems, are wing players who will push for playing time as well.

3. Who will man the post?

Yurtseven’s professional plans will impact this area. If he returns, the Wolfpack will have an experienced big man to play with the four guards.

If he turns professional, Keatts will rely on three inexperienced players up front.

Incoming freshman Ian Steere and Immanuel Bates are both 6-9 power forwards and four-star recruits. They come with strong games but have to prove they can handle ACC play as well as the physically demanding up-tempo style Keatts coaches.

Derek Funderburk is a bit more experienced. He started his career at Ohio State and played this season at Northwest Florida State Junior College. The 6-10 forward will have three years of eligibility with the Wolfpack.

Just like Yurtseven, Funderburk could play as the lone big man with four other guards around him and find success.

4. Where does Torin Dorn fit in?

Everywhere and that’s the point.

Dorn projects as N.C. State’s lone senior next year and he’s coming off a tremendous season. The versatile 6-6 wing averaged 13.9 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while making 51.3 percent of his shots.

While the Wolfpack roster was in flux due to injury, suspension and transfers, Dorn played power forward in some sets and small forward in others. He became a trusted player for the coaching staff.

Even with Daniels, Bryce, Bey and Hellems vying for minutes, Dorn will continue to be a major factor . The internal competition will be fierce and that figures to make the Wolfpack better overall.

5. Is another NCAA tournament berth possible?

Certainly it will be. Keatts beat the odds and expectations to led the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament.

Next season, despite the strong possibility of being inexperienced in the post, he’ll have more options in the backcourt. That’s his preference anyway.

Keatts will be able to keep his players fresher while running and pressuring the opposition. Guys will be able to give maximum effort for short stints and when they sub out there won’t be a big drop off in talent and production.

That inexperience in the post, should Yurtseven leave, means N.C. State isn’t ready to challenge for an ACC championship quite yet. But as we saw this season, Keatts can have his team ready to compete with the top teams in the league and make the NCAA tournament..

This story was originally published March 16, 2018 at 10:47 AM with the headline "Is this just the beginning for the Pack? Five questions for NC State basketball."