The run the NC State Men’s Basketball team went on in March had the whole country watching, but what was it like to watch through the eyes of an incoming Freshman who will be joining the team next year? 4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil shared his thoughts with me on the Wolfpack’s unforgettable run.
What was it like for you to watch NC State as the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament win 5 games in 5 days to win the Title?
What we did this year shows seeding doesn’t matter. What our guys did was just another level, and when you get between those lines, it’s a different type of static. I believe it took a lot of discipline and focus to win five games in five days. I also feel like the fan base played a huge part to the team by bringing extra energy and not making them feel alone.
What do you think happened to turn this team around?
You have to give God all the glory because without Him guiding us, we wouldn’t have made it how we made it. Also, it’s about the jersey you put on and the pride of it all. It’s like there’s no way we go out this way and they clicked at the right time. The team was just rolling and I also think the mentality of all the players changed.
As a player signed with NC State, how proud were you to see NC State go on this run, from the ACC Championship, to the Final Four?
I’m very proud of the guys. They deserved to win it all, but it just didn’t happen that way. I’ve been saying they were the best team in the ACC and I always knew we had the right pieces to be the best.
What does it mean for you to see Coach Keatts get the recognition he’s getting?
Oh man, he deserves it, especially coming from where he comes from and all the things he dealt with. With all the media attention, he still stayed focused and locked in towards the team. Coach Keatts is very blessed and very humble.
How do you think this run will help the future of NC State basketball?
It will put more eyes on us and teams know now to not overlook us and underestimate us ever again. It was never a Cinderella story — it was never ‘oh they just got lucky.’ This run will definitely help us a lot and I’m forever grateful for what the boys did.
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McNeil (6’7″/185) led Richmond to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs this season, before losing to #1 Hanover 55-53.
As a Senior at Richmond (Rockingham, NC), McNeil averaged 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.6 assists per game.
ON3 ranks McNeil as the #49 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #15 Small Forward, and the #6 player on the state of NC.
McNeil is a part of a 2-man 2024 Freshman Class that includes 4-Star Guard Trey Parker.
Henderson was denied sixth year. What has happen to Markell, staying or going?
That’s too bad. Haven’t heard much about Markell lately so maybe that’s a good sign. He’s the starter this season so not sure why he wouldn’t return quite honestly.
Worst case scenario involving losses of Henderson and Markell means that this is our lineup:
PG – Batts
SG – A. Freeman/Newman
SF – Dorn/Kirk
PF – Abu/Hicks
C – Yurt7/Freeman
Like to know if A. Freeman or Newman have enough ball handling to play backup at PG? If Markell stays then we should be solid at PG.
Newman, really? Sounds like Southern conference basketball to me.
Sorry, Colonial Athletic Association basketball.
He’s a good shooter. Just need to get him to a passable level on defense and get him open looks on offense. We can sit him in the corner and have him run baseline to baseline for open looks out of the post or dribble penetration. I don’t see him playing a ton of minutes but 8-10 minutes in an up tempo offense is feasible.
If we look at the 1-3 postions… even if Henderson doesn’t get extra year and we lose Markell, we start a freshman at PG and we have several wings.
Leaving: Smith Jr (PG), Rowan (SG/SF), Henderson (SG)?
Returning: Dorn (SG/SF), Newman (SG), Kirk (SF), Markell (PG)?
New additions: Batts (PG), A. Freeman (SG)
If you look at the roster even if Freeman is not 100% we appear to be ok in the front court.
Bigs leaving: Anya, Kapita
Bigs returning: Yurt7, Freeman, Hicks, Abu
I think Yurt7 made the right move. His freshman season exposed his weaknesses. He needs to work on his strength and physicality. How does he fit into new uptempo offense? This will be a good measure of Keatt’s coaching ability. I want to see how he incorporates a 7 foot center into that offense.
Can we just no show for every game next year?
We’ll just have to play small ball all season. It’s not like we haven’t had to before. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time we had a solid true center (maybe Todd Fuller). Every decent center I can think of the last 10 seasons or more were playing out of position. CJL, Ron Kelly, Hickson, Simmons, Powell, …
Looks like Kapita is signing with an agent. He didn’t even get invited to the combine. Guess he has money troubles or something.
Probably academic problems too.
That’s the part I can’t understand. I mean every one of these kids has access to tutors. It’s practically impossible to fail. And if they are so stupid that they can’t pass freshman classes with tutoring then they shouldn’t be in school in the 1st place.
I agree 100%. Let them go to D league or overseas. Stop the chaos in the college.
Now Kapita is testing the NBA waters. Coach Keatts let’s sign some bigs as insurance. There was a time when kids enjoyed college life. What’s not to like… girls, parties, fame, and playing the game you love. Crazy how so many want to leave after a year when the chances of making it in the NBA are so slim. Obviously statistics classes should be mandatory for FB and BB players.
We need bodies at the 2 & 3 positions so this is good. Hard to beat senior level experience. I’m really interested to see the results of the next season. Gott set the bar low at 4 ACC wins so I would assume Keatts can manage to beat that by at least a game or two.
So you are basically saying that we should not watch NC State basketball next year. I am tired of 4 to 6 wins in the ACC.
If you think change will happen over 1 season I don’t know what to tell you. We can sort of assume that Keatts will be an improvement based on his history with UNCW but I doubt he’s a miracle worker. I’ll judge him fully when he has his own guys. He has to implement his system, change the culture, and bring in guys that can play his style. It will take time.
I have to disagree. His players have never beaten a Power Five school. He must raise his own standard to win in the ACC. I don’t believe he is the right coach for State. I’m also hoping that I am wrong on this.
Well he wasn’t my 1st choice either but what’s done is done. In his defense, he wasn’t exactly recruiting ACC caliber players at UNCW. So to me his recruiting class for next season will be telling. If we can at minimum keep the recruiting at a similar level and up the coaching then that alone will equal more wins. How many more wins? Let’s wait and see.
I ask myself how do I like Keatts compared to the hires of Sendek, Lowe, and Gottfried? And I think the answer for me is that I like him better than all those guys. Is he the one that will lead us to the promised land? We have at least 4 seasons to see.
His players, at the before-he-got-there cellar dwellers, have never beaten a p5 school, though have come close on several occasions, with little talent, means that he is a crappy coach and will do nothing at State. Gotcha. Go pull for another team please. I think a guy that went 262-17 and won 2 National Championships at Hargrave, while having to recruit a new team every year, can get the job done
Hey let’s not act like success at one level guarantees success at another. Plenty of good college coaches have flamed out in the nba and visa versa. The fact is Keatts does not have power 5 head coaching experience so to say he will do this or that is premature. We have him for at least 4 seasons so let’s give him time and pray that he does better than his predecessor.