2024-25 Basketball Spotlight & 10-Year Snapshot: NC Central

2025 North Carolina Sports Network
NC Basketball Spotlight, 10-Year Snapshot:
North Carolina Central

By David Glenn
North Carolina Sports Network

School: North Carolina Central

Location: Durham, N.C.

NCAA Division I Member Since: 2011-12

Conference: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC)

MEAC Member Since: 2011-12 (also a member from 1971-80, when MEAC was Division Two)

MEAC Ranking Among 32 Leagues (KenPom): 29th (2025), 30th (2024), 28th (2023), 30th (2022), 31st (2021), 32nd (2020)

NCAA Tournament Bids: 4 (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Conference Titles: 4 (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019)

Conference 1st-Place Finishes: 4 (2014, 2015, 2017, 2020)

Head Coach: LeVelle Moton (50 years old, 16th season)

As A Player: N.C. Central (1992-96); 4-year international pro career

Record as Head Coach (Through Dec. 27): 270-206 (.567) in 15+ seasons

Previous HC Experience: none at NCAA level

College AC Experience: N.C. Central (2007-09)

Assistant Under: Henry Dickerson

2023-24 Record: 18-13, 9-5 (2nd in 8-team MEAC)

2024-25 Preseason Prediction (Coaches): 3rd in 8-team MEAC

2024-25 Record (Through Dec. 27): 6-9, 0-0 MEAC

2024-25 Midseason Ranking (KenPom): #288 nationally (4th in MEAC)

Upcoming Schedule: at North Carolina A&T (12/28), St. Andrews (12/31), at Coppin State (1/4), at Morgan State (1/6), UMES (1/11), Delaware State (1/13), SC State (1/25)

When North Carolina Central gets a rare regular-season game in the national spotlight on Saturday (2 p.m., CBS/Paramount+), there will be plenty to highlight.

The Eagles will be part of a doubleheader known as the “CBS Sports Classic: HBCU Showcase,” with the opener being held at the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro. Howard is visiting Hampton (4 p.m., CBS/Paramount+) in the second game.

NC Central’s opponent, North Carolina A&T, is its long-time archrival, although the two schools now play in different leagues. Nevertheless, whenever the two schools get together, especially in football or men’s basketball, the contest is billed as the “Aggie-Eagle Classic.”

Meanwhile, the Eagles boast one of the top players in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (and an All-Name Team fixture) in junior guard Po’Boigh King, who earned third-team All-MEAC honors last year and appears poised to make a run at first-team accolades this season. During NCCU’s 6-9 start, King was the league’s sixth-leading scorer, at 15.9 points per game.

Last, but certainly not least, NC Central is directed by 16th-year head coach LeVelle Moton, who over the last three-plus decades has performed the extremely rare triple of becoming one of the greatest players and coaches in the history of the program while simultaneously immersing himself in countless important community-related endeavors in Durham (where he works), Raleigh (where he grew up) and the rest of the Triangle.

“The biggest thing that I’ve always appreciated about Velle is not just how he coaches guys to be better basketball players, but how he trains them and coaches them to be men,” NBA legend Chris Paul, a North Carolina native, told ABC11 earlier this year. “If you look at his players, you know, when they leave school, they leave as better men.”

Over the past 11 seasons, Moton has led the Eagles to the first four NCAA Tournaments (2014, 2017, 2018, 2019) of their relatively brief time at the Division One level. Central has almost always been a contender in the MEAC standings, too, with four regular-season titles (2014, 2015, 2017 and 2020) and nine top-three finishes in that stretch.

Moton, already the winningest coach in NCCU basketball history, has the challenging task of mostly rebuilding his roster every year. Two of his top players from last season, guards Fred Cleveland and Ja’Darius Harris, are now playing professionally in Lithuania, and several other rotation players hit the transfer portal.

“You’ve got to re-recruit your entire team every year, and then you’ve got to recruit your best players, because there’s tampering,” Moton said. “You know, there’s high-major coaches hitting up their AAU and high school coaches and selling you out behind your back.”

Although six of the Eagles’ top 10 players this season are newcomers, including starting point guard Dionte Johnson, their other four most frequent starters are returnees.

King, Keishon Porter and Perry Smith Jr. are transfers now in their second season at NCCU, and forward Timmy Adedire is the rare player who has spent his entire four-year college career with the Eagles.

2024-25 NC Central Eagles
(6-9, 0-0 MEAC; through Dec. 27)

STARTERS (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

PG Dionte Johnson, Jr. (6-0/190) — 2024 UMES transfer (starter)
21 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 41% FG, 83% FT, 26% threes, 50/30 ATO, 0 blocks, 20 steals

G Po’Boigh King*, Jr. (6-4/195) — 3rd-team All-MEAC (2023 Harcum JC signee)
29 mpg, 16 ppg, 3 rpg, 44% FG, 75% FT, 33% threes, 28/23 ATO, 2 blocks, 22 steals

G Keishon Porter, Sr. (6-5/195) — 2023 Cape Feat CC transfer (starter)
24 mpg, 12 ppg, 3 rpg, 53% FG, 67% FT, 43% threes, 14/17 ATO, 5 blocks, 27 steals

F Timmy Adedire, Sr. (6-4/208) — 2021 HS signee; Baltimore (Md.) Perry Hall
29 mpg, 5 ppg, 4 rpg, 31% FG, 64% FT, 30% threes, 27/16 ATO, 3 blocks, 13 steals

F Perry Smith Jr., Jr. (6-9/230) — 2023 Vermont transfer (backup)
26 mpg, 9 ppg 5 rpg, 64% FG, 46% FT, 0% threes, 2/25 ATO, 9 blocks, 11 steals

KEY RESERVES (stats = 2024-25 numbers)

G Isaac Parson, r-Sr. (6-2/170) — 2024 Winston-Salem State transfer (3-year starter)
19 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 40% FG, 75% FT, 29% threes, 56/21 ATO, 1 block, 12 steals

G Floyd Rideau Jr., r-Sr. (6-5/170) — 2024 USC Upstate transfer (backup)
15 mpg, 7 ppg, 2 rpg, 38% FG, 86% FT, 36% threes, 8/8 ATO, 1 block, 9 steals

F Jaqai Murray, Jr. (6-7/215) — 2024 Coahoma CC transfer (2-year starter)
14 mpg, 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 57% FG, 70% FT, 33% threes, 9/10 ATO, 2 blocks, 15 steals

F Kelechi Okworogwo, Jr. (6-6/215) — 2024 UMES transfer (backup)
13 mpg, 6 ppg, 4 rpg, 44% FG, 67% FT, 33% threes, 2/8 ATO, 4 blocks, 8 steals

G Aquan Smart, Sr. (6-3/175) — 2024 SE Missouri State transfer (2-year starter)
12 mpg, 3 ppg, 2 rpg, 44% FG, 57% FT, 42% threes, 16/9 ATO, 2 blocks, 9 steals

Departures from 2023-24: PG Fred Cleveland* (Ss./Lithuania), G Terrence Crawford (Sr.), F Kye Dickson (So./transfer/Northwest Nazarene), G Guy Fauntleroy (So./transfer/Claflin), F Devin Gordon* (Sr.), F Cobey Harraway (Jr./transfer/Valdosta State), G Ja’Darius Harris* (Ss./Lithuania), C Emmanuel Izunabor* (Sr.)

*—returning starter (started at least 50% of NCCU’s games last season)

NC Central Eagles
10-Year Snapshot

Season — Overall, League (Place), Postseason

2023-24: 18-13, 9-5 MEAC (2nd), no postseason (LeVelle Moton)
2022-23: 18-12, 10-4 MEAC (2nd), no postseason (LeVelle Moton)
2021-22: 16-15, 8-5 MEAC (3rd), no postseason (LeVelle Moton)
2020-21: 5-9, 3-5 MEAC (6th), no postseason (LeVelle Moton)
2019-20: 18-13, 13-3 MEAC (1st), COVID (LeVelle Moton)
2018-19: 18-16, 10-6* MEAC (3rd), NCAA First Four (LeVelle Moton)
2017-18: 19-16, 9-7* MEAC (6th), NCAA First Four (LeVelle Moton)
2016-17: 25-9, 13-3* MEAC (1st), NCAA First Four (LeVelle Moton)
2015-16: 13-19, 7-9 MEAC (6th), no postseason (LeVelle Moton)
2014-15: 25-8, 16-0 MEAC (1st), NIT 1st Round (LeVelle Moton)

*—conference champion (regular-season or tournament)

NOTE: In the coming weeks and months, please visit the North Carolina Sports Network’s 2024-25 profiles and 10-year snapshots for all 19 Division One men’s basketball programs in North Carolina and all 18 Atlantic Coast Conference programs. The items below will become “live links” as new articles are posted.

Appalachian State Mountaineers, Sun Belt Conference

Boston College Eagles, Atlantic Coast Conference

California Bears, Atlantic Coast Conference

Campbell Camels, Coastal Athletic Association

Charlotte 49ers, American Athletic Conference

Clemson Tigers, Atlantic Coast Conference

Davidson Wildcats, Atlantic-10 Conference

Duke Blue Devils, Atlantic Coast Conference

East Carolina Pirates, American Athletic Conference

Elon Phoenix, Coastal Athletic Association

Florida State Seminoles, Atlantic Coast Conference

Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs, Big South Conference