Any questions about Kevin Keatts have likely been answered. The former UNCW coach gave what was easily the best opening press conference in recent NC State history. He spoke with no fear and didn’t shy away from his track record of winning and the fact that he wants national championships at NC State. Either this guy is exactly the right hire, or he studied NC State fans and delivered the exact speech they wanted to hear. This is a must watch. (video below links to GoPack)
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.
Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.
For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.
247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.
What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.
It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!
2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.
DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.
NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.
Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.
The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.
NC State has reached out to Utah Transfer Guard Deivon Smith (6’0″/173).
Utah guard Deivon Smith tells @LeagueRDY he’s hearing from these schools since hitting the portal:
Kentucky
Villanova
Florida
Creighton
St. John’s
Miami
Wake Forest
NC State
Kansas State
Washington
Louisville
VCUIn his first season with the Utes, Smith averaged 13.3PPG,… pic.twitter.com/jvJI7Yahfw
— 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) April 20, 2024
Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.
Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.
At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.
NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.
Was just watching the player interviews and what they said was pretty damning of Gottfried. You get this picture that there was no real culture and no discipline (which the average fan could see clearly). It’s like the saying, “a kid needs his dad to be a dad more than a friend.” I feel like Gottfried tried to be too much of a players coach and he lost their respect at some point.
Where did you see the player interviews I would be interested in seeing them.
do a search on wral sports fan
BFD. He speaks well. BFD.
Come on now, it’s somewhat of a deal. Have you ever heard coach Lutz speak? I mean I think he’s a really good coach but when he opens his mouth recruits will start running the other way unless they happen to be from the Appalachian.
And don’t forget about one of the best orators in State history… Jimmy V. He convinced the 83 team that they could beat Phi Slamma Jamma.
As you know my pick was Pearl. Go orator. Let’s just wait and see what this guy does before we get head over heels in love with this guy. Sure hope he does well. To Sundrip Sniffer, I have never been on PP.
I was on the Holtmann boat but like you I will take a wait and see approach. It’s a better hire than Lowe for sure. Keatts has higher potential upside than Gottfried. When we hired Gottfried he had a long resume so the upside was lower but he was more predictable.
Just shut up and go away. Only thing you ever do is complain. Go back to PP.
No need to make it personal. It’s actually healthy to have differing opinions.
He didn’t offer a different opinion, which is the problem. All he did was say Butch F Davis, and on an article on the main page.
I did offer a different opinion. My opinion is if we wanted an orator, pick a poet. If you want to win basketball games, we will have to wait and see if his words translates into wins. On the other forum, many were saying that these words were nearly identical to Sidney’s. See what we got that time.
He said all the right things during the presser. He spoke on the legacy of NC State basketball and sympathized with the fans. He definitely appears to have some charm and charisma which a good recruiter always needs. I wish him the best of luck. In all honesty he was not my top choice but I hope he surprises all of the fans.
One of the things I’m hoping for is that he is a great player evaluator. Not all 4-5 star players are created equal. I thought one of Gott’s problems was that he recruited by star level and not by coachability or fit with team.