The NC State men’s basketball team is losing one of just four forwards on the active roster, as freshman big man Ian Steere will transfer from the program after just one game with the Wolfpack according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Steere, a four-star recruit, played just five minutes in the Pack’s season-opening 105-55 win over Mount St. Mary’s, scoring four points and grabbing four rebounds in the short appearance. In the Pack’s second game against Maryland Eastern Shore, Steere was not with the team. Head coach Kevin Keatts addressed Steere’s absence after the game.
“Ian and I had a discussion yesterday about what his future may be here at NC State,” Keatts said. “Without going into too many details because I don’t want to give out too much on our private conversation, I told him to sit back and take a couple days and decide if this is the best fit for him or if there’s another place that he feels like he could go.”
The 6-foot-9, 261-pound forward’s departure puts NC State in a bind down low this season, with only three listed forwards left on the roster. Moving forward, the loss of Steere will make less of an impact as NC State will get two forwards sitting this season out on the court in 2019-20.
Former five-star recruit and Kentucky transfer Sacha Killeya-Jones, a junior, is sitting out this season to fulfill transfer rules. Freshman big man Manny Bates, a high school teammate of Steere, has been sidelined with a shoulder injury.
