Marques Johnson to transfer; 2009 scholarship opens up

08-09 Basketball General75

According to sources close to the situation, NC State junior guard Marques Johnson has decided to transfer to another program.

More analysis later…

Projected 2008-2009 NC State Basketball Roster

Senior Class
(1) Courtney Fells (Wing)
(2) Ben McCauley (F/C)

Junior Class
(3) Brandon Costner (F)
(4) Trevor Ferguson (G)
(5) Dennis Horner (F)
(6) Farnold Degand (PG)

Sophomore Class
(7) Javi Gonzalez (PG)
(8) Tracy Smith (4F)

Freshman Class
(9) Johnny Thomas (Wing)
(10) Julius Mays (PG/SG)
(11) CJ Williams (Wing)

HS Sr Commits
(12) Scott Wood (SG)
(13) Richard Howell (4F)
(1) Lorenzo Brown (SG, PG, Wing) (Courtney Fells Scholarship)
(2) Open – [Post player/center along the lines of Derrick Favors or potentially Keith DeWitt] (Ben McCauley’s Scholarship)
(*) Potential open for John Wall if needed

HS Junior Commitments
(3) CJ Leslie (F)
(4) Ryan Harrow (PG)
(5) Open
(6) Open

08-09 Basketball General

75 Responses to Marques Johnson to transfer; 2009 scholarship opens up

  1. ApexPack 08/13/2008 at 7:13 AM #

    Is this the equivalent of recruiting a Top 50 player with addition by subtraction?

  2. RaleighWolfpacker17 08/13/2008 at 7:27 AM #

    TheWolfpacker.com had the scoop on this one. He’s going to Georgia State.

  3. BJD95 08/13/2008 at 7:31 AM #

    Well, Sid can definitely count. He’s been recruiting like he had multiple scholarships in his pocket, so we knew something was up.

    Best wishes to MJ at Georgia State.

  4. phillypacker 08/13/2008 at 7:53 AM #

    Could anyone do a breakdown of where we are with available scholarships for 2009-2010?

  5. choppack1 08/13/2008 at 8:06 AM #

    You’ve got to feel for this kid – this will be his 3rd school.

  6. happypackdad 08/13/2008 at 8:09 AM #

    Degand, Brown, Javy
    Fergie, Mayes, Wood
    Williams, Thomas
    Costner, Smith, Horner
    Howell

    That’s 12, expect at least one more, probably 2.

  7. backinpack 08/13/2008 at 8:09 AM #

    Crazy, I just saw him at Mission Valley last week while I was eating at Ruckus and he was wearing NC State gear just like every other player you see out….

    Hopefully everything will work out for him in the long run. Good luck, Marques!

  8. Noah 08/13/2008 at 8:13 AM #

    Best of luck to him. It was clear very early that he was not an ACC player. You gotta punch your weight.

  9. graywolf 08/13/2008 at 8:24 AM #

    Best for both party’s. We will be better without him and he will be better at Georgia State.

  10. pakfanistan 08/13/2008 at 8:44 AM #

    Did someone threaten to break this kid’s legs if he was good at basketball? His college performance in no way reflects his offer list, or his recruiting ranking.

    “Natural scorers mentality. Solid handle and point skills with deep range on the jumper.”

    That’s not the player I saw last year.

    I guess stars really are only for restaurants.

  11. BJD95 08/13/2008 at 8:54 AM #

    Your additional openings would come from some combination of the following possibilities (in order of likelihood):

    1) Johnny Thomas – medical hardship
    2) Brandon Costner – graduation/Europe
    3) Trevor Ferguson – graduation

  12. stormin norman 08/13/2008 at 9:08 AM #

    We have 11 scholarships – 2 seniors. That leaves 4 openings (with 3 taken). Look 1-2 others to leave – some based on who we sign believe or not.

    Big men – Favors or Dewitt (one if not both will be at NCSU)
    Wings – Johnson, Adams
    PG – Wall

  13. BJD95 08/13/2008 at 9:15 AM #

    This is also good news for those who want to see more of Simon Harris – he has to be the front-runner to back up Fells at SF now.

  14. choppack1 08/13/2008 at 9:33 AM #

    packfanistan – Keep in mind he could have been really good and lost some confidence.

    I’ll also tell you from personal experience in evaluating players that especially for big guards – the college game is entirely different banana. I saw Cliff Crawford play in high school, he played the point and was really a force on the court. His own teammates couldn’t always keep up or catch all of his passes, but I chalked that up to him playing w/ kids who were slower and not as talented. When he got to college it was obvious that he needed to work on his handle, his shot and being under control. By his senior year, he’d come a long way in these areas and was an effective guard for us.

    I think probably what happened in Johnson’s case was that he was able to handle the ball adequately enough, shoot well enough and move well enough to be a force in high school. However, when he moved to the college ranks – he was just a step too slow and his handle wasn’t quite good enough for him to be an effective PG. His shot was questionable, so he wasn’t the best option at the 2 spot.

  15. Daily Update 08/13/2008 at 9:44 AM #

    Johnson was put in a horrible situation last year. He wasn’t a PG and it wasn’t his fault that we needed him to play PG. It was almost impossible for him to succeed last year.

  16. pakfanistan 08/13/2008 at 9:45 AM #

    So, is he going to have to sit out another year? Can he get some kind of waiver?

  17. wufpaxno1 08/13/2008 at 10:46 AM #

    Correct me if I am wrong, but I think that he choose Ga. State based upon his being able to play right away. Poor kid has moved around more than a set of luggage and I think that he had his ego over-inflated in the whole recruiting process. I get the impression that all he wants to do now is play ball and is looking for somewhere that he can start.

    Off topic, but Toney Baker and Clem Johnson are out indefinitely due to injury.

    http://www.wral.com/sports/story/3369692/

  18. choppack1 08/13/2008 at 10:56 AM #

    wufpax – who knows. A kid transfers when he is not happy w/ his current situation and he doesn’t see much room for optimism in the future.

    It’s a necessary evil, but on a personal level, I really feel bad when any kid transfers from NC State because he probably hasn’t enjoyed his college experience as much as I did.

  19. phillypacker 08/13/2008 at 10:57 AM #

    All the reports I’ve seen indicate that Favors is pretty unlikely to end up at state. Is there new info to indicate something different? Adams also appears to be leaning strongly away. Wall looks pretty unlikely. We don’t have any other two-guard wing prospects we are looking at besides adams do we? Any news on whether Johnny Thomas may be able to come back?

  20. TheDireWolf 08/13/2008 at 11:02 AM #

    Where is Harris accounted for at?

    SFN: I think he is accounted behind that preposition…

    🙂

  21. JimValvano 08/13/2008 at 11:13 AM #

    I hate that Marques didn’t work out. I’m sure his hopes for himself were just as high as all of ours were whenever Degand got hurt last year. I hope he gets back his confidence at Georgia State and becomes and NBA lottery pick.

    With that having been said…it sure is nice to have an extra scholly to work with considering the momentum we appear to have in recruiting right now. It should be extremely interesting to see who we end up welcoming into the program. I will say, as good as Ryan Kelly is, and as bad as we may want him…he is highly unlikely. He will be going to school at Duke, Notre Dame, Davidson, or some other school with similar credentials in regards to education. People I’ve talked to within the ACC feel that we’ve got as good of a shot at Favors as anyone. Lets all cross our fingers and hope Sid and the crew can land a quality big man and with the Johnson scholarship sign the most talented prospect possible.

    This is off subject…but what happened to Harrison Beck and Justin Burke? I’m seeing that they are out of the QB competition due to…surgeries?

  22. one00_proof 08/13/2008 at 11:31 AM #

    Don’t forget to mention guys like Garrius Adams and Noel Johnson. There’s a great chance those two guys are there to fill the potential scholarship we had open for Wall.

    As for the QB situation, I think Burke and Beck are out simply because with only a few weeks left, O’Brien wants to make sure the young guys get as many reps as possible to really distinguish a QB. If you really look at the situation, Evans is only getting snaps because he will be the backup and it’s a two horse race between Glennon and Wilson. O’Brien wants the young guys to get as many reps as they can to prepare them for the season.

    Glennon clearly has the most upside but unless Wilson falters badly, O’Brien will save Glennon for the future because there’s no sense in throwing a star QB out with a developing O-Line.

  23. packalum44 08/13/2008 at 11:32 AM #

    as a finance guy, one thing i do is assign arbitrary percentages to proposals we think we will win…and i get paid for it…

    Favors…..15%
    Wall…….15%
    Dewwitt….25% (conflicting reports on if we have offered yet)
    Spurlock…5%
    Kelly….—–> )0(
    Hamilton…5%
    Adams……20%
    Anonymous..15%

    These figures/illustrations are purely speculative and based none whatsoever on insider knowledge…so who can beat em’?

  24. BJD95 08/13/2008 at 11:38 AM #

    Harris was not scheduled to be on scholarship, I think. With MJ’s departure, I assume he will be now. He’s a senior, I believe.

  25. PacknSack 08/13/2008 at 12:05 PM #

    Johnson can’t play right away, since Ga State is D1 in the CAA. In fact, since played at Tenn as a freshman, sat out year for the transfer then played as a sophomore here, he would have to sit out his junior year and have only his senior year left to play.

    I’ll effort that further.

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