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)
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.
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.
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.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
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.
Wolfer96
7 years ago
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.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.
Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.
From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.
For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.
Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.
News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.
After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.
This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.
James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.
Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.
Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.
Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.
After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.
ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.
With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.
NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.
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.