You guys asked for it. Here is your ‘way too early’ list of potential transfer portal targets
Justin Gainey was just officially named the head coach at NC State yesterday, and his press conference is today at 2 pm, but that isn’t stopping the fanbase from wondering what his roster might look like and who he might target in the portal.
The first step is to see what the staff looks like, and then the portal would need to actually open for these names to become actionable. But for the time being, we’ve tracked down some names to watch based on style fit and prior connections.
Here’s our early list of names we find interesting…
Bishop Boswell | Tennessee
Position: Guard
Size: 6’4, 204lbs
Year: Rising Junior
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Portal Status: Has not said if he’ll enter
Stats: 6pts, 3 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 38% from 3
Connection: As associate head coach at Tennessee, Gainey played a key role in recruiting Boswell out of Myers Park High School in Charlotte. Boswell was one of the first commitments in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class and chose the Vols after a strong recruitment push from Gainey and the Tennessee staff. Gainey is obviously very familiar with him after recruiting him and then coaching him for two years. He’s been grooming Boswell at the point, and this year he played a big role at 28 minutes per game. He is not in the portal yet, and we’re not 100% sure he enters, but there is chatter from both the NC State side and the Tennessee side since the Gainey hire. If he enters the portal, expect his destination to be NC State.
Juke Harris | Wake Forest
Position: Guard
Size: 6’7, 200lbs
Year: Rising Junior
Hometown: Salisbury, NC
Portal Status: Has not said if he’ll enter
Stats: 21pts, 1.9 assists, 6.5 rebounds, 33% from 3
Connection: This one would be very interesting. While at Tennessee, Gainey recruited Juke Harris hard (he was the lead recruiter). Juke is from Salisbury, NC, so this is another one of those kids whom Gainey was trying to pluck out of our home state. This just goes to show the ties that Justin has here. While Harris ended up at Wake Forest, Tennessee was in his final top 12 schools, and he took an official visit to Knoxville. Pairing Juke with Boswell and P2 would immediately put NC State’s backcourt into an elite level, but let me slow down. Harris isn’t even in the portal and there’s a chance he stays put. But being able to stay close to home, while playing for a coach who he has a strong prior connection to, at a school that may be more ready to compete than Wake Forest, could tip the scales. We’ll have to wait and see.
Freddie Dilione V | Penn State
Position: Guard
Size: 6’5, 200lbs
Year: Rising Junior
Hometown: Fayetteville, NC
Portal Status: Has not said if he’ll enter
Stats: 14pts, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, 32% from 3
Connection: This one has one of the strongest prior ties on the board. While serving as associate head coach at Tennessee, Justin Gainey was the lead recruiter for Freddie Dilione V out of Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh. Dilione committed to the Vols in August 2022 and was one of the early pieces in Rick Barnes’ 2023 class. He redshirted his freshman year at Tennessee before transferring to Penn State. Being from Fayetteville, NC gives Dilione another strong in-state connection to NC State. If Dilione enters the portal, he’d be a natural target and a good fit for Gainey. He’s a big, versatile guard who can lock you down on defense and score on all 3 levels on offense.
Somoto Cyril | Georgia
Position: Center
Size: 6’11, 260lbs
Year: Rising Junior
Hometown: Enugu, Nigeria
Portal Status: Says he will enter
Stats: 9pts, 5 rebounds, 76% FG, 2.2 blocks
Connection: The connection here isn’t as strong as the others, but Cyril did receive an offer from Tennessee while Gainey was on staff. I do not believe he was leading recruitment or anything, but the staff was obviously interested in him. He said early in his recruitment that Tennessee was recruiting him ‘the hardest,’ But The Vols didn’t make his final list before he chose Georgia. With NC State in need of big, and Gainey likely to anchor the paint with some elite size, Cyril would be a nice rim protector to grab out of the portal.
Roman Siulepa | Pitt
Position: Forward
Size: 6’6, 220lbs
Year: Rising Sophomore
Hometown: Brisbane, QLD
Portal Status: Says he will enter
Stats: 10pts, 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 ORB per game, 30% from 3
Connection: This connection here isn’t direct either. Siulepa is an absolute dog. He’s undersized, but would make for a great bench piece for the Wolfpack. He put 15 points and 13 boards on NC State this past year and had a game of 28, and two games in which he dropped of 22 points. He had 9 games where he logged 8 or more rebounds. Not bad work for a freshman. He’s extremely physical, pretty versatile, and loves to attack the glass. Feels like a Gainey guy, and there’s a slight connection here. Jason Capel was the assistant coach at Pitt this previous season and he and Gainey are close. They had a 4-year stint coaching together at App State.
Brady Dunlap | SLU
Position: Forward
Size: 6’7, 200lbs
Year: Rising Junior
Hometown: Studio City, CA
Portal Status: Says he will enter
Stats: 7pts, 2 rebounds, 45% from 3
Connection: This connection here isn’t with Gainey. It’s with NC State. Brady Dunlap is the son of Jeff Dunlap, who coached under Mark Gottfried at NC State from 2011 to 2017. He grew up here in Raleigh thanks to his dad’s job, and obviously attended State games during some pretty formative years (age 7-14). He went to St. Johns before transferring to SLU. But it wouldn’t be hard to believe that this kid is a State fan at heart. Brady is an elite shooter and is worth mentioning thanks to the connection, but your priorities are Paul McNeil Jr and Cole Cloer at this position. Only if those fall through would Dunlap be on the radar (I’d assume).
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We’ll keep adding to this list, but for now, this is just speculation with a little chatter sprinkled in. As Gainey gets his staff set and the portal opens we’ll be updating this with confirmed targets.
