The transfer portal is wide open and there is a bustling stop at NC A&T.
A total of five NC A&T players have entered the transfer portal since it opened on March 13, including its top two scorers and the highest-rated prospect in school history.
Kicking off the transfer portal exodus was forward Marcus Watson as he entered the portal on the first day it opened. Watson, a 6-6 redshirt junior from Buford, GA averaged 14.2 points per game last season He topped the 20-point mark nine times in the 2022-23 season, including a career-high 27 points against UNC Greensboro.
After a quiet couple of days, three more Aggies jumped into the portal over the weekend.
Sophomore guard Kam Woods led A&T in scoring this season with 17.3 points per game. Woods is a high-volume scorer, shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 33.7 percent from the 3-point line. He scored 20 points or better eight times during the season. He also averaged 4.2 rebounds and dished out 101 assists on the season.
Redshirt freshman Duncan Powell entered the portal over the weekend as well. Ranked as a four-star prospect by ESPN out of DeSoto, TX he had a solid first season of college basketball, averaging 8 points per game in just 22.5 minutes. He was named to the CAA all-rookie squad.
Another redshirt freshman, Chase McDuffie, will be looking for a new home as well. McDufifie, a 6’5 guard, averaged 1.8 points per game in 14 appearances – including two starts.
The most recent addition to the portal has been Love Bettis, a sophomore guard from Florida. He appeared in 30 games for NC A&T, averaging 4.8 points per contest.
An exodus out of the program via the transfer portal was not unexpected, given the fact that previous head coach Will Jones parted ways with the program last August. Interim head coach Phillip Shumpert took over for Jones, but the program is now searching for a new head coach. Clearly, the new coach will have to bring some scorers along with them to replace what is being lost.