Previously Injured NC State Basketball Guard Dresses in Opener
NC State basketball begins the eighth season of the Kevin Keatts era with a home bout against the USC Upstate Spartans in the Lenovo Center at 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network Extra).
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And the warmup action included a dressed sophomore guard in Dennis Parker Jr., who was out of commission alongside redshirt junior guard Mike James (knee) for the Wolfpack's final preseason tune-up, a 79-75 home exhibition win over Lees-McRae on Friday night.
As Keatts noted following the victory over Lees-McRae, Parker has been dealing with a few setbacks in the ankle department.
"So, Dennis has had a string of bad luck," Keatts said at the time, "Before the scrimmage, he turned his ankle. He was practicing, he's back, he's playing well, and he turned his other ankle. So, I don't know if we got to switch his shoes or whatever."
Whatever they did, it sure looks as though Parker is now recovered enough to play should Keatts and his crew decide to call his number.
Meanwhile, James is likely out another few weeks.
While the Wolfpack roster includes a couple of underclassmen who could eventually earn a starting nod, NC State went with a veteran, guard-heavy lineup out the gates in the 2024-25 campaign:
- Graduate guard Michael O'Connell
- Senior guard Jayden Taylor
- Senior guard Marcus Hill
- Senior guard/forward Dontrez Styles
- Senior forward Ben Middlebrooks
Work before the work 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/PRtplaEk9b
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 4, 2024
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