NC State men’s basketball adds Raleigh native to roster; Wolfpack women lose starter
DJ Horne is finally returning to home to complete his college basketball career.
The former Cary High School standout guard, who has played college basketball at Illinois State and Arizona State over the past four seasons, said Monday he’s transferring to N.C. State to play for the Wolfpack next season.
Horne posted the news on Twitter and told On3.com in an interview he picked the Wolfpack because “home is where the heart is.”
The 6-3 Horne averaged 12.5 points and 2.4 assists for Arizona State last season while starting 34 of 35 games for a team that made the NCAA Tournament. He made 36.9% of his shots overall, including 35.5% of his 3-pointers.
Between Illinois State and Arizona State, he’s played in 120 college games, starting 107 of them.
A Raleigh native, Horne played at Leesville Road as a sophomore before making the Triangle-6 all-conference team as a junior at Cary when he averaged 18 points, four assists and three rebounds per game. He transferred to Trinity Christian School in Fayetteville for his senior season, when he averaged 12.4 points, four rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game during the 2018-19 season.
At Illinois State, Horne made the Missouri Valley all-freshman team when he averaged 8.7 points per game. As a sophomore, he increased his scoring to 15.1 points per game while hitting 42.4% of his 3-pointers.
He transferred to Arizona State during the summer of 2021, averaging 12.5 points while hitting 36% of his 3-pointers as a junior with the Sun Devils.
He’s able to have a fifth season of eligibility to use at NC State thanks to the NCAA’s COVID-19 pandemic era rules that don’t count the 2020-21 against a player’s eligibility limits.
Horne helps NC State coach Kevin Keatts rebuild his backcourt for next season following the departures of sophomore Terquavion Smith and senior Jarkel Joiner.
Smith, who has declared for the NBA Draft, averaged 17.9 points per game last season as the Wolfpack (23-11) made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. Joiner, who completed his eligibility, scored 17 points per game for NC State last season.
Pack women lose a starter
Diamond Johnson, a 5-5 junior guard who started 21 games for N.C. State’s women’s basketball team last season, announced Monday on social media that she is entering the transfer portal.
Johnson scored 12.3 points with 3.5 assists per game last season for the Wolfpack.
“Due to some unfortunate situations and after weeks of prayer and talks with my family,” Johnson wrote on Twitter, “I have decided to enter my name into the transfer portal and find out where my journey takes me next.”
This story was originally published April 17, 2023 at 12:40 PM.