Kevin Keatts has a lot to sort through with his lineups and is still missing an important piece in Mike James, who has yet to play this season and probably won’t before December. Keatts said last night that James is about two-and-a-half or three weeks away from being ready.
This is decidedly unhelpful but also it’s not like James will alter the team’s style of play dramatically, or make a large difference in the areas where it has struggled early. He will hopefully provide a modest boost to NC State’s outside shooting, but regardless, that’s going to continue being a problem.
If James were to make his debut in three weeks, that’d be in time to suit up against Texas, but he’ll miss the Thanksgiving trip and the games against Purdue and BYU/Mississippi. It’d be great to be at full strength for the difficult stretch ahead, but as long as the Pack’s ready by January, it should be okay.