Coach Wade lands the #6 ranked player in the transfer portal
NC State has signed Darrion Williams. He is one of the top players in the transfer portal, and considered turning pro, but withdrew his name from the draft process. Coach Wade has now signed a 5-star high school recruit and a 5-star transfer in his first two months as NC State’s head coach. With the addition of Williams, NC State’s transfer class ranks #12, overall, their recruiting class ranks No. 14 nationally.
Stats:
- Ht / Wt: 6’6” / 225 lbs
- Position: Foward
- Eligibility: 1 season
- PPG / RPG / APG: 15.1 / 5.5 / 3.6
- Shooting: 43.9% / 34% (48-141) / 83.6%
’24-’25 Season Highs: Scored 20+ 9 times including a season high 28, had 5+ rebounds 23 times including a season high of 10 and three games with 9, had 5+ assists 9 times including a season high of 11, had 3+ steals 7 times including a season high of 4.
Background:
Darrion Williams is from Sacramento, his junior season he transferred to play high school ball at Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas and earned the Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year following his senior year.
He then signed with Nevada as a 4-star recruit. He was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year after averaging 7.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game as a freshman.
He transferred to Texas Tech for his sophomore season. He started every game and led the Red Raiders with nine double-doubles and 7.5 rebounds per game, he averaged 11.4 points, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He was All-Big 12 Third Team.
Williams started every game as a junior and finished the season averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. He earned All-Big 12 First Team honors.
247 ranks him as a 5-star transfer, the #6 player in the portal.
Adam Finkelstein scouting analysis: Williams has evolved from an undersized four-man in high school to a versatile and efficient big wing of sorts who can hunt mismatches from different spots on the floor. At 6-foot-6 with a still thicker natural build, he compensates for what he may lack in quickness or explosiveness with strength, intellect, and skill. He can post-up, put the ball on the floor in both directions, pick-and-pop, and play out of all types of offensive actions. His ability to read the game is very advanced. He averaged 3.6 assists per game, good enough for a 23% assist rate. He was not only the player that Grant McCasland often relied on most in late game situations but also allowed Texas Tech to invert a lot of their offensive actions and let him operate like a big initiator out of ball-screens and dribble hand-offs. While Williams’ game has made notable strides in each of his three seasons, beginning with his freshman year at Nevada, the one area which saw regression recently was with his three-point shooting. Williams shot just 34% from behind the arc last season, after knocking down 46% as a sophomore at Texas Tech. He’s still a plenty willing floor-spacer, and capable of making big shots in key moments, but somewhat unorthodox with his release and rotation. Defensively, his rebounding numbers also dipped, but that could be by virtue of spending more time alongside two true bigs. He’s improved his mobility enough to be reliable guarding opposing wings, so long as he isn’t overextended and has support in gaps around him. Overall, while his physical tools may not be flashy, he’s viewed as a reliable and heady team defender.