Addition of Trevor Lacey gives NC State another weapon for its 2014-15 backcourt
Hours after reports surfaced earlier this month that he had chosen NC State, ex-Alabama guard Trevor Lacey quickly refuted them.
"Don't start the rumors," he tweeted. "I haven't made a decision."
Lacey may not have been ready to make it official 10 days ago, but his preference for NC State doesn't appear to have wavered. He confirmed to coach Mark Gottfried on Monday he has chosen the Wolfpack over fellow ACC schools Pittsburgh and Miami, according to multiple reports.
"The coaches were real happy to get my papers, making it official," Lacey told PackPride.com. "I have a really good relationship with the coaches at NC State, and I think it's a place that I fit in really well at."
Even though Lacey will have to sit out a full year before making his NC State debut, he should be worth the wait for the Wolfpack. The 6-foot-3 former five-star recruit averaged 11.3 points and 3.2 assists per game as a sophomore at low-scoring Alabama last season, shooting better than 37 percent from behind the arc.
Lacey will join a 2014-15 backcourt that is unproven right now but should have a chance to gain experience next season. With five of NC State's top six scorers gone from last season, the Wolfpack will rely on sophomore Tyler Lewis and freshman Anthony Barber at point guard next season and LSU transfer Ralston Turner and junior college transfer Desmond Lee at shooting guard.
Lacey originally chose Alabama over Kentucky and Kansas, among others, two years ago and likely would have been one of the SEC's top guards next season had he remained at Alabama. It's unclear why he left a Crimson Tide team with NCAA tournament aspirations, but Alabama coach Anthony Grant told the Birmingham News in April that Lacey and his parents appeared to want a fresh start in hopes it might help him fully tap into his potential.
"It will give him the opportunity to try and figure some things out," Grant told the newspaper. "I think there are some things over the course of his two years here that he and I talked about in terms of what he needed to do to put himself in position to be where he is capable of being. Hopefully a change will give him the opportunity to realize some of those things and become what his family would like to see him become and certainly what he wants to become."
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