Duke v North Carolina men's basketball at the Dean Smith Center on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. North Carolina won 79-70. March 9, 2019. (Jon Gardiner/UNC-Chapel Hill)
The transfer portal already is one wild place to begin with.
For the first time, a former UNC basketball player is involved, as Dontrez Styles is returning to the state of North Carolina, just not with the Tar Heels this go around.
After spending a season at Georgetown, Styles has committed to Kevin Keatts and the NC State Wolfpack.
Yup, you read that correctly.
Now, the writing was on the wall for this move, as it was rumored that NC State was the logical destination for Styles. However, as the transfer portal continues to get crazier by the day, this is the first time that we’ve seen a player spend time with two of the three following programs: Duke, North Carolina and NC State.
Well, Styles is making history in his own right.
At Georgetown, Styles had a career year, as he finally earned the minutes he couldn’t find in Chapel Hill. Over 32 games played, the Kinston, North Carolina native averaged 12.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 43% from the floor, including 36.8% from beyond-the-arc.
In his final season of collegiate eligibility, Styles will not only return to his home state, but will get the opportunity to face his former team.
This probably won’t be the last time that we see a student-athlete switch sides of this type of rivalry, as the players at this point are going where the minutes are available and where the NIL money is flowing. For Styles, it was a move that was expected, but is also one that will leave some fans wondering if loyalty even exists anymore.
Now, you may be a bit conflicted as to whether or not you can root for Styles.
Armando Bacot chimed in to voice his opinion on the matter:
