NCAA grants NC State’s Blake Harris a waiver to play right away

Point guard Blake Harris will be eligible to play for N.C. State from the start of the 2018-19 college basketball season, the school announced on Tuesday.

The school also announced freshman forward Manny Bates will redshirt the season as he recovers from shoulder surgery.

Harris, a transfer from Missouri, received a waiver from the NCAA to play for the full season. He transferred to N.C. State in January, after playing in the first semester of the 2017-18 season for the Tigers.

Under NCAA transfer rules, the former top-100 recruit from Chapel Hill was supposed to sit out the first semester of the upcoming season. Instead, he received a waiver from the NCAA, which has recently loosened its transfer policies.

“I’m excited for Blake that he has an opportunity to join our team immediately,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said in a statement released by the school. “I’m very appreciative of our compliance staff for working diligently with Blake on the waiver and thankful to the NCAA for approving it.”

Bates, a 6-11 forward from Fayetteville, had surgery on his left shoulder earlier this month.

“Obviously this is not how any of us wanted Manny’s college career to begin,” Keatts said. “But Manny has a positive outlook on the situation, and I know he will work hard to rehabilitate his shoulder.”

Harris and Bates are two of 10 newcomers on the Wolfpack roster after Keatts led them to 21 wins and an NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season.

Harris is expected to help returning guards Markell Johnson and Braxton Beverly. Bates is one of five new forwards on the roster. He was expected to compete with freshman Ian Steere, grad transfer Wyatt Walker and junior-college transfer Derek Funderburk for minutes in the frontcourt.

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 5:13 PM.