Keatts Presser after Bryant :: Bulleted

Published

6 years ago

November 15, 2017

Keatts met with the media following NC State’s 95-72 win over Bryant. Here is a snapshot of what he had to say:

Opening statement…

It was a good night. Learned a lot.
Faced adversity early with Bryant coming out hot and got us behind.
Been telling the guys if you want to be a good pressing team you need some ‘come from behind wins’
Press was really good.
Forced them into 27 turnovers. Got 14 steals. 15 assists on 36 made FGs. Only turned it over 7 times.
Bryant took 52 shots. We took 79 because of steals and deflections off the press.
Glad to have Braxton out there, but put him in a bad spot.
Got a call from compliance saying he can play. Called Braxton at about 5pm, told him he could play.
Braxton thought it was a joke.
Equiptment manager has had Beverly’s jersey on hand every game.
Could have waited until Thursday to play him but was too excited.
Thought he did a good job and excited about him going forward.

On message after rough start..

Stick together. In basketball, you never lead games from beginning to end.
Told them that Bryant made their run, now we make ours.
Alot of times when teams get a lead, you start taking bad shots and the lead increases.
Guys stayed focus and we got into the press and it made the difference.

On Lennard Freeman..

Big strong and physical around the basket
From day one, focus was on him scoring with his back to the basket
Not a lot of guys have the size he has
Becoming a good post player and will be important all year long
Had a career night with 20 points and guys are comfortable throwing the ball to him

On Torin Dorn…

From the start, knew he was someone who could be really special in the system
Has the ability to score inside and out
Did a good job of mixing his game up, being aggressive getting in paint and finishing at the rim
Really good game. Effective in every way, even on defense.

On Beverly’s role in the rotation…

Got two guys that are going to be very good in NC State uniform…Braxton and Lavar.
Don’t have to play Markell, Al and Sam so many minutes anymore
Depth allows ability to bring young guys along slowly
Will see a different Braxton Beverly after he gets a few games under his belt
He is a shotmaker who can run the team

On busy schedule to start season…

Weird, but likes it. Walked into the gym and was like “I was just here yesterday”
Playing this much helps the team in the future. Mimics tournament schedule

On Abu’s progress…