Has NC State basketball found its next star guard in Bowling Green transfer Marcus Hill?
The move to N.C. State basketball worked wonders for Jarkel Joiner and DJ Horne, both of whom helped the Wolfpack advance to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons.
Joiner and Horne were a pair of gold-star finds for head coach Kevin Keatts in the transfer portal. Bowling Green transfer Marcus Hill could be the third guard from the portal to assume the lead guard role for the Wolfpack.
Hill, who recently announced his commitment to N.C. State after two years at the junior college level and another at a mid-major program, brings a bucket-getting reputation to Raleigh.
Alabama, Kansas and Oklahoma were among the other schools pursuing Hill, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged 20.5 points, five rebounds and 2.6 assists per game for the Falcons.
He started all 34 games last season, finishing with 20 or more points in 19 of them, including three with 30 or more. Hill also led the team in assists (87) and steals (35).
How Marcus Hill can follow in footsteps of Jarkel Joiner, DJ Horne
In making the jump from the Mid-American Conference to the ACC, it’s unlikely Hill will maintain or improve his average of more than 20 points per game at NC State.
Joiner and Horne boosted their scoring averages as Power Five transfers, but Hill’s improvement will likely show up in how efficient he can be for the Wolfpack.
Joiner went from averaging 13 points, three rebounds and 2.3 assists at Ole Miss to averaging 17 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists with the Wolfpack. Horne saw his scoring average go from 12.5 points per game at Arizona State to 16.9 points per game at N.C. State.
With the Wolfpack, Horne and Joiner combined to average an effective field-goal percentage of 51.3% and shot 37.9% from beyond the arc. Hill will have to get closer to those numbers to maximize his effectiveness at State.
Last season at Bowling Green, Hill had an effective field-goal percentage of 46.6%, including 30.1% from 3-point range. He also took 31.8% of the team’s shots, which ranked inside the top 50 players according to KenPom.com.
Marcus Hill joins Wolfpack guards Michael O’Connell, Jayden Taylor, Mike James
Despite the loss of Horne, Hill won’t have to do all of the heavy lifting in the backcourt.
Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell are two of the Wolfpack’s top returners in the backcourt, and Keatts added Louisville transfer Mike James via the portal to add depth to that group.
During NC State’s postseason push, which featured an ACC Tournament championship and run to the Final Four, O’Connell became the team’s top facilitator. He averaged a team-best 3.2 assists, which will only help Hill as the he adjusts to finding his footing in the ACC.
Then there’s Taylor and James, both of whom have shown an ability to knock down 3-pointers and get to the free-throw line at a high rate.
If those trends continue in the Wolfpack’s backcourt, things will open up even more for Hill, who enters a solid situation to become N.C. State’s next standout guard from the portal.
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: What to expect from Marcus Hill with NC State basketball
