FARGO — North Dakota State lost a player to the NCAA transfer portal on Tuesday, although it may not be a huge surprise considering Dezmond McKinney did not play this year after suffering an ACL injury the prior season.
McKinney will have three years of eligibility remaining after redshirting this season. He played in 27 games in 2020-21 making one start while averaging 3.3 points in 13.9 minutes of play per game. His sophomore season was interrupted after 23 games with the knee injury.
McKinney came to NDSU from Raytown South High School located near Kansas City, Mo. At Raytown he averaged 14.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists his senior year. At point guard, the Bison went with true freshman Damari Wheeler-Thomas this season and his improved play as the year progressed contributed to NDSU's strong finish until the Summit League tournament final.
McKinney is the first Bison to enter the portal this season, a different twist from last season when veterans Sam Griesel, Maleeck Harden-Hayes, Tyree Eady and Jarius Cook were among the NDSU players who entered the portal. Griesel had a productive season at Nebraska, Harden-Hayes was a regular contributor at UNC Wilmington while Eady started 34 games at North Texas.
Cook played in 21 of 29 games, missing time with a shoulder injury, averaging 5.4 points a game at Jacksonville University (Fla.).
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