Kevin Keatts Media Day Presser: Bulleted Form

If you want to watch NC State head coach Kevin Keatt’s Media Day press conference in full form, you can do so here, but if you’re just looking for the main points, look no further.

Opening Statement

• Been working out two hours a week together. Two players he’s been most impressed with are RS Senior PF Lennard Freeman and Sophomore C Omer Yurtseven. They have been extremely good players and have worded hard.
• Conditioning has been a big deal.
• Practice starts Friday.
• They are being picked to finish between 11th and 14th in the ACC by preseason publications. He wishes we were 15th so he could use it as motivation.

On Lennard Freeman

• In the best shape of his life.
• Last years team struggled with rebounding. Lennard is a great rebounder.

On Omer Yurtseven

• He’s back to playing with confidence again. Coming in after missing games last season didn’t set him up to be confident.
• Had to convince him that this year was going to be a different situation than last year.
• He didn’t just come back because Keatts recruited him, but because he listened to the NBA guys.

On Style of Play

• Has 3 legit big guys that he wants to put into the offense. Don’t be surprised to see Lennard and Omer on the court at the same time.
• They will still play fast, but this team will be a different version of what the team will look like in the future, because he has bigger guys that can contribute.

On Taking over the Program

• Soon as he stepped on campus, these players became his guys.
• He told all the players that he doesn’t have any starters. They will determine that.

On Malik Abu

• He has developed a 15-foot jump shot.
• He’s started to put the ball on the floor a little bit
• Goal is to get him confident from 15-18 feet away, but also take guys off the dribble from there.

On Braxton Beverly

• Submitted the waiver for him two weeks ago, and they haven’t responded back with any questions.
• He can practice and play, the only thing he can’t do as of now is competition.

On Point Guard

• The guy that obviously needs to play well is Sophomore Markell Johnson.

On Torin Dorn

• He’s playing with a lot of confidence. He’s believing in the system. He’s going to see a lot of minutes at Small Forward, but if we get in a situation where we have to go small, he will play Power Forward, or what Keatts calls the ‘4th guard.’