Keatts Presser after Charleston Southern Win :: Bulleted

Published

6 years ago

November 13, 2017

Keatts met with the media following NC State’s 78-56 win over Charleston Southern. Here is a snapshot of what he had to say:

Opening comments…

Interesting game, but a game the team needed to have.
Guys were letting defense suffer because they weren’t playing well on offense.
Team was not sharp out of the gate
Thank God team found Sam Hunt and he knocked down shots in first half
Thought we played well on defense, only gave up 21 points in the first half
Good Stat: Past two games, turned over both teams more time than they had made FGs.
Encouraged that team found a way to win when offense was not clicking.
Good job finishing the game.
Happy with the win, but time to get back in the gym and figure out what went wrong and how to fix it.

On how 3s help stretch the floor…

The current group is doing a great job of spacing the floor and finding open guys.
This is the first time team had more turnovers than assists, but still had 13 assists on 25 made FGs. A good ratio.
Al Freeman passed on some open shots early. Not sure if someone got to him and told him to put it on the floor more?
Making 3s helps offense most right now

On whether this team will be able to shoot it well consistently…

Like’s teams ability to make shots.
Thinks Al Freeman, Hunt are great shot makers. Markell and Batts getting better.
The more work the team puts in and if they continue to play at their pace, they will become a very good shooting team.

On how helpful is it to have a bunch of games back to back this early in the season…

Didn’t realize it at first. Games are coming really quickly, but it’s good for the team.
Told team if they are going to win a championship they are going to have to be able to be able to play back to back games at high level.
No excuses about how many games we play in a row. They are scheduled and we have to play them.
Lots of great things to take from this game, but a lot to work on. But will take 2-0.

On what have you seen from Markell over the first 2 games…

Didn’t think Markell was Markell in this game.
Sure he almost had a triple-double but he didn’t take care of the ball. 7 turnovers.
Can’t ignore the points and assists in back to back games, but he wasn’t sharp in this one.
Don’t know why, but sometimes it happens. Everything else was good.

On if there is any difference between practice and learning in game (in terms of style of play/energy)…

No, that was more Charleston Southern than us.
Thought they came out with a great game plan to slow down pace
When you looked at CSU’s opener vs Davidson you think “Thats not a good team” but Davidson made 23 3s against them.
Davidson was a buzz-saw that night. CSU wasn’t bad.
CSU did good job of not trying to run with us, but trying to control pace of play.

On if there is an Abu update?

Now sure at the moment.
Going back to Dr. early this week and won’t have an update until then.
Sometimes you don’t realize you don’t have leading scorer from last year on the floor.
Getting Abu back adds another dimension to the team, but it’s important for others to get minutes while he’s out.

On winning and not scoring near 100

Excited about this team. Told them they are getting better and just because they are a transition team doens’t mean they’ll have nights like this. (scoring in the 70s)
If you are going to win a championship you have to learn how to win all types of games.

On the feeling coming out of week one 2-0…

Feel good but looking for improvement.
Take one game at a time.
Half the country is 1-0 and half is 0-1. After tonight some going to be 2-0, 1-1 or 0-2.
Would rather be 2-0.

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

1 day ago

April 23, 2024

Matthew Bradham

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

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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.

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.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Matthew Bradham

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Matthew Bradham

What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.