Would Jalen Lecque Have Made a Difference?
This is already shaping up a season of "what might have been" for the NC State basketball team. But lost in all the injuries and close losses that have a coach Kevin Keatts' talented, but shorthanded team teetering on the NCAA tournament bubble as it heads into the final month of the regular season is the biggest "what if" of all.
What if five-star combo guard Jalen Lecque had decided to play his one-and-done season of college ball for the Wolfpack instead of going straight through to the NBA draft?
Above and beyond his playmaking and scoring ability, his mere presence on the roster would have helped add depth to a rotation that has forced Keatts to back off from his preferred uptempo style of play. It would also have taken some of the ballhandling responsibilities away from Markell Johnson, allowing him to concentrate more on his shooting -- something that has been off all season.
Playing a season at State might also have benefitted Lecque, who was able to turn pro because he played a fifth year of high school ball and had already turned 19.
Lecque went undrafted, but signed a four-year free agent deal -- with two years guaranteed -- with the Phoenix Suns. He is making the NBA minimum of $897,158 this season. Although he is getting paid, he might have stood to make significantly more had he gone to school for a year and enhanced his stock enough to become a first or second round pick.
While the 6-foot-3 New Jersey native has seen some action with the Suns, he has spent most of the season playing for their G League affiliate. He is averaging 13.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 22 games for the Northern Arizona Suns. He has twice scored his career high of 25 points in a game.
Lecque is one of five players with Wolfpack ties currently playing in the G League.
The others are:
Cat Barber, who is averaging 16.3 points and 6.1 assists while shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor for the Atlanta Hawks affiliate College Park Skyhawks;
C.J. Williams, averaging 11.0 points, 4.2 rbounds and 2.6 assists in 29 games for the Long Island Nets;
Trevor Lacy, averaging 3.7 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.3 assiss in 23 games for the Wisconsin Herd;
And Caleb Martin, who played two seasons at State before transferring to Nevada, who is averaging 20.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Greensboro Swarm, an affiliate of the Charlotte Hornets -- the team on which his twin brother Cody plays.
Other players with Wolfpack connections in the NBA include T.J. Warren, who is scoring at an 18.4 ppg clip with 3.8 assists and 1.4 assists for the Indiana Pacers; and Dennis Smith Jr., who is averaging just 5.2 points and 2.6 assists per game while waiting to see if the New York Knicks are going to trade him, as rumored.
