What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend TJ Warren? I caught up with the man who won the ACC Player of the Year Award in 2014 to get his take.
What was it like for you watching NC State go from the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament, to winning the Championship, to going to the Final Four?
I’m a second generation Wolfpack basketball player. Wolf blood runs through my veins, so to be able to witness a ride like that was truly amazing.
What did this run say about Kevin Keatts and these players? In what ways did you see them adapt, change or persevere?
I think that is speaks to the heart that the players have. As a 10th seed in the ACC tournament, it’s easy to pack it in and look towards the offseason, but they did the opposite. They bonded together over adversity and that’s what made them so endearing. Hard work in the face of adversity, that’s something that Wolfpack fans can relate to.
As one of the best players to ever wear the Red & White, what did this run mean to you personally?
As I mentioned earlier, NCSU hoops has been in my family for a long time, so it meant a whole lot personally. This run definitely took me back to some of the fond memories I have of putting on the Red & White and playing in front of a packed house at the PNC.
What was the most memorable moment for you?
I think Mike’s shot to tie the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like destiny at that point. Anytime you get to beat UNC and Duke days apart is special too.
How do you think this run can change things for the NC State Basketball program going forward?
I think that it puts us back on the national radar where we belong. After a magical run like that, I think it makes players want to be a part of that. A run like that reinvigorates a program definitely.
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Warren is 1 of only 6 NC State players to ever be named the ACC Player of the Year. In his Sophomore season, Warren was named a 2nd Team All-American by Sporting News and the AP. He averaged 24.9 points per game, which is the 5th best mark in a single season in NC State history. Warren scored 871 points that year, which is the most points ever scored in a single season by a Wolfpack player.
TJ was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 14th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
NC State Forward Ernest Ross announced today that he is entering the Transfer Portal.
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Ross played in 14 games this year, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in the 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
Ross has one more year of eligibility remaining.
NC State has 3 scholarships available now.
Best of luck Ernest!
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.