Sidwell Friends senior Saddiq Bey was granted his full release from North Carolina State on Wednesday, putting the four-star forward back on the hunt for his ideal college program.
The 6-foot-7 athlete chose the Wolfpack over Xavier, Miami, Pittsburgh and several other programs in November. In choosing N.C. State, Bey said he felt a connection with the coaching staff and liked the atmosphere in the program as well as on campus.
But on Tuesday, Bey asked for a release from his letter-of-intent.
“It was mutual between me and my coach,” Bey said. “There were tough situations that occurred, and you know that I felt as though I wanted to go in a different direction. I love the Wolfpack nation and I love Coach Keatts and everything so it wasn’t any bad blood or anything.”
Tuesday also happened to be the same day N.C. State landed transfer Sacha Killey-Jones, a former five-star recruit from Chapel Hill who played two seasons at Kentucky. The sophomore picked N.C. State over Pitt, North Carolina and Wake Forest. He averaged 3.3 points and 2.9 rebounds last season. Killey-Jones will sit out next season and have two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Additionally, on Monday it was announced that N.C. State added Florida International graduate transfer Eric Lockett. Lockett, a 6-5 wing, left FIU last month following a coaching change and will be immediately eligible. The additions of Lockett and Killey-Jones briefly gave N.C. State 14 scholarship players on the roster, which is one over the NCAA limit.
“Saddiq is a great kid and we wish him the best of luck in the future,” Wolfpack Coach Kevin Keatts told The News & Obeserver’s Joe Giglio.
Bey said he made up his mind a couple of weeks ago and his request for the release was not related to the transfers or anything else happening with roster numbers.
“People think it was related to that, but it was 100 percent not,” Bey said. “That’s false.”
Bey, an ESPN Top 100 recruit, averaged 21 points during his senior campaign, and missed a handful of games because of an ankle injury. He averaged 14.2 points as a junior and led Sidwell Friends to a Mid-Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.
Bey has one official visit remaining, but as of now, he doesn’t have an official list of new colleges that he wants to look at. However, multiple college coaches have shown interest since he was granted his release. As far as a timetable of choosing his new program, Bey expressed his desire to still go to summer school, so he wants to make a decision before one of the summer sessions start (either before June or July).