Forget about the outcome (even though it was really positive). We were very impressed with the brand of basketball we saw from Kevin Keatts’ NC State team on Friday night. It was only one game, but looking closely, there was a lot we learned. Here is our take.

Markell Johnson makes this team go
I’m not sure if you could find a better fit for this system than Markell Johnson. You saw it last night. Keatts wants to play at breakneck speeds and Johnson’s strength is that he can play controlled at full throttle. He finished with 16 points, 12 assists, 5 steals, and only two turnovers. His ability to get into the lane with ease and his willingness to kick out when help defense arrives will make this NC State team tough to stop. He also set the tone on defense, jumping passes and pestering the Mars Hill guards at every turn. We were excited about Markell coming into this season, but seeing him in the offense makes us giddy.

Lennard Freeman is back and wow did State miss him
Freeman is out here looking like Richard Howell 2.0. He’s obviously put on a ton of muscle since he last took the court for the Pack and boy does he love to throw it around. Lennard is a huge key to this team and Keatts was trying to make sure he got out of this exhibition healthy. He only logged 19 minutes, but he was a huge factor when he was on the court. He finished with 7 points and 10 boards (3 offensive). Aside from being an absolute monster on the boards, Freeman also creates havoc by playing in the passing lanes at the high post. Keep an eye on this next time out. Most times you don’t see bigs willing or able to deny this pass, however, it’s important because this is the safety valve for most offenses when defenses up the pressure on the ball handlers. Freeman’s ability to cut off that valve was a big reason the defense looked so good while he was in there. He finished second on the team in steals with 3.

Lavar Batts Jr is going to be really good
Speaking of guys who love playing fast. This kid is going to be special and it’s no secret as to why Keatts wanted him so bad. He, like Markell, gives you an unselfish guard who is lightning quick, has a great handle, and can get to the basket. He’s physical and violent with his attacks to the hoop, but he can throttle down fast and finish or find the open man. However, some of his real value is going to come from his defense out front. He is another lockdown guard that when teamed up with Johnson is going to really bother opposing guards (he had to clean rips at midcourt) and make it tough for them to get into their sets. Batts finished with 16 points, 3 assists and 2 steals while only turning it over twice.

Al Freeman is going to be a lethal scorer
Not much here we didn’t expect. He’s a really good shooter with the ability to take it to the hoop, but watching him work off of Johnson and Batts had us excited. He pairs really well with these uber-quick, pass-first PGs who are going to get him a lot (and we mean a lot) of open looks. He finished with 18 points,  8 boards, and 4 assists. Besides Johnson, Freeman was the most polished and impressive guy out there.

This team is in insane shape
Just to be frank, NC State has never been in this type of shape, maybe ever. Basketball is a pretty simple game. Work harder and you’ll usually win. But ‘work harder’ doesn’t just mean just on gameday. It starts in practice, and it starts by having a coach who understands that the team in better shape is going to be able to work harder for longer. Last night you saw a highly conditioned team. They played at a breakneck pace and we didn’t see one guy ask to be taken out for a breather. Yes, Keatts did a good job of rotating guys in and out (and he’ll need to in order to keep his guys fresh), but being in this type of shape is more important than most people think. Midway through the second half, NC State was still in the passing lanes and jumping passes for steals. When Mars Hill’s guards were wearing down, Batts and Johnson were attacking them like it was the first 5 minutes of the game. This stretch (mid to late in the 2nd half) is going to be where this NC State team wins a lot of games. It’s only game one and you can already see that this team is in insane shape.

This is a winning style of basketball.
Remember all our articles over the past few years? You know we always harp on team defense, getting out in the passing lanes, sharing the basketball and limiting turnovers. Well, tonight we have no gripes because this team did all of those things. Some of the stats that really pop out at us are the 26 forced turnovers (and 56 deflections!) vs. only 11 giveaways by State. Think about that. With the pace of play that we just saw, for this team to be so controlled and so smart with the ball is crazy.  I think, however it’s a combination of things that makes that possible.

For one, Keatts has these guys in shape, so fatigue is a lot less of a problem. He also is harping on his point guards to make smart decisions and be good leaders on the floor. Couple that with the fact that Johnson and Batts simply are guys that can play extremely fast without playing out of control and you have a recipe for success.

Sure this was just Mars Hill and it was a game that didn’t count, but what you saw was a winning brand of basketball. Hard work and teamwork combining to create what we believe is going to something pretty special in Raleigh this season. We know the media has NC State ranked near the cellar of the ACC, but we will promise you, if this team plays this brand of basketball all season long, they will be nowhere close to the bottom of the league.