Practice is still six days away, but Darius Adams already stands out as one of the most intriguing pieces on the roster. The former McDonald’s All American and Maryland transfer comes in at 6-foot-5, 175 pounds, listed as a guard, and the early read on him is pretty clear: the talent is real, but the game needs sharpening.
Last season, Adams put up 10.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game while shooting 35.4% overall, 24.8% from 3-point range, and 71.4% at the line. He scored 355 points, which placed him in the 76th percentile nationally, and he drew 140 free throws, more than anyone else on Maryland’s team. He also got 3.7% of available offensive rebounds, good for the 73rd percentile among guards, and assisted on 14.3% of Maryland baskets while he was on the floor.
The big issue was efficiency from the outside. Adams was not a good shooter last season, and the numbers back that up.
He hit just 24.6% of his threes and 43.1% inside the arc, while turning it over on 14.8% of his possessions. He was also operating at a massive load, sitting in the 92nd percentile in usage.
For comparison, Quadir Copeland was in the 87th percentile for the Pack last season.
Still, there’s a reason people are high on him. Patrick Stacy said, “[Darius Adams] Does some stuff you can’t teach.
Crafty around the basket with finishing and can kind of do a lot of different things, and Darius was dealing with an injury last year on his shooting hand. We want to get him back to where we think he can be as a jump shooter, when Darius pops, it’s going to take us to an entirely different level.”
Scout Team Sports’ Jake McSwain was even more direct about the upside: “NC State fans should be highly excited about the extreme upside he still has to his game. As a pick and roll ball handler - 82 nd percentile in the nation, better than 4 of 5 guards in the country.
He has the tools to be incredibly dynamic with the ball in his hands. He did force up way too many shots last year, but his mechanics look fine.
If you put him in a situation where he has more consistent shot quality, you are going to see his efficiency rise.”
That’s the path here. Adams needs to cut down on the bad shots and lean into what he does best: getting downhill.
He averaged a shot every 22 seconds he was on the floor last season, but that kind of volume won’t be necessary now. This roster already has six other players who averaged at least 10 points per game, so the shot diet should be much cleaner.
The fit with the other guards is important, too. Adams, Hammond, and Edmead are the three who will attack the basket most often, but each brings something different.
Edmead gets to the rim but doesn’t finish well. Hammond is more polished around the basket and across all three levels, with the floater just inside the foul line as his go-to inside-the-arc shot.
Adams is the tallest of the three and the only one who dunked it last season, though he did it just once. Torvik’s shot breakdown shows 46.4% of Adams’ baskets made were close 2-point shots, the highest of the group.
Hammond led in far 2-point makes at 34.6%, while Edmead was the outside threat, with 57.5% of his baskets made coming from 3-point range.
There’s still plenty for Adams to clean up, but the bigger picture is encouraging. He’s one of the top 50 players in his class, he has already faced high-level P4 competition, and he was only a freshman last season. That matters.
For now, though, the projection puts him on the low end of his 10-15 minute estimate. He should come off the bench behind Hammond and also factor into the rotation at point guard behind Edmead. If his defense tightens up and the shot selection gets more disciplined, he could become a strong late-season contributor.
In Other News...
NC State Must Adjust Fast For Vanderbilts New-Look Quarterback
Vanderbilt is bringing a different look into its matchup with NC State, and it starts at quarterback. Curtis, one of the nations highly regarded 2026 prospects, is expected to get the nod after stepping in for the starter in recent games and settling in quickly enough to change the feel of the offense. For a Wolfpack defense that is still sorting out its own early-season answers, that means prep time matters, because the Commodores are no longer operating with the same script they began the year with.
The quarterback change is only part of what makes Vanderbilt tricky right now. Graduate linebacker Nick Rinaldi has helped anchor the defense, defensive lineman Ouattara has been part of the push up front and transfer defensive back Jones has added stability on the back end, all of it feeding into the teams strong start. NC State has to account for that broader picture while adjusting to a new signal-caller, and the balance between containing Curtis and handling the Commodores other playmakers may decide how quickly the Wolfpack can settle in. [Read more 🡒]
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The move happened fast, but Lovelace adapted quickly enough to earn a debut in front of nearly 60,000 fans and deliver a kickoff touchback. Coaches have pointed to the ease of his transition and the work ethic that helped him get there, a useful reminder of how quickly college rosters can change when one emergency leads to another. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Enters A Stretch That Could Heat Up Dave Doeren Fast
After a rocky opening stretch, NC State is headed into a run that could tell a lot about where Dave Doerens program stands in the broader coaching carousel conversation. The Wolfpacks recent games have already sharpened the scrutiny around the season, and the schedule ahead now gives them a chance to change the tone quickly if the team can put together a cleaner stretch.
For Doeren, the stakes are familiar: keep the Wolfpack moving in the right direction and the noise fades, but stumble through the next few weeks and the questions around the program only get louder. In a year when several Power Four jobs are already drawing attention, NC State does not need much more turbulence, which makes this upcoming stretch one of the more important ones on the calendar. [Read more 🡒]