Less than a week after junior guard Lorenzo Brown declared his intent to enter the 2013 National Basketball Association draft, two more members of the Pack decided to leave the program.
Junior forward Calvin Leslie announced his intent to forgo his senior year to pursue a professional basketball career, while freshman guard Rodney Purvis decided to transfer out of the program.
State has lost five of its top-six players. Only freshman forward T.J. Warren remains.
Leslie announced his plans to enter the draft at a press conference Monday morning. Like Lorenzo Brown, he was accompanied by his mother, Lisa Leslie, and head coach Mark Gottfried.
“It’s one of those things where you just know that it’s time,” Leslie said. “It’s time to move on and that’s what I feel like in my heart. My family feels the same way that I do.”
Gottfried described Leslie as a “misunderstood” talent, but said he has the potential for a bright future in the professional ranks.
“I’m proud of Calvin. I think he’s gotten a lot better,” Gottfried said. “I’ve enjoyed coaching him. He’s one of those guys that I think a lot of times is misperceived by a lot of people.
“The general consensus is there’s no doubt that he’s going to be a good player in the NBA.”
Gottfried’s system allowed Leslie to flourish in his sophomore and junior years with the Pack, according to the former guard. It helped him prepare for the next level.
Despite the criticism Leslie endured from fans and commentators during his career, he said he has no regrets.
“A lot of people my freshman year were saying I should have went to another school, but I don’t really think back,” Leslie said. “I just keep it moving. I try not to think back. You have to learn to take what you did, live with it and move on.”
Almost four hours following the press conference, Purvis announced his intention to transfer out of N.C. State via his Twitter account. He tweeted, “Tears won’t stop falling. I enjoyed every moment here. I still love you guys, no matter how you may feel towards me. Thank y’all!”
Purvis started the first 23 games of the season, but was unseated by Warren in the middle of the Atlantic Coast Conference play. Purvis averaged 8.3 points per game in 25.5 minutes of action per outing.
Gottfried now faces the challenge of retooling a program with — for now — a pair of sophomores, former LSU guard Ralston Turner and Scout.com’s No. 9 recruiting class in the nation.
“We have to move on, and we’ll adapt how we play to our personnel within our system,” Gottfried said.
“What we try to do is take advantage of guys’ skill sets and how well they do. We tried to do that with him and Richard. Whoever that ends up being next year, we’re going to do the same thing.”w
