Coach Keatts Presser after win over Penn State :: Bulleted

Coach Keatts met with the media after NC State’s 85-78 win over Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten challenge. Above is the full press conference and below are the cliff notes.

• Great win. Did not want to go on a 3 game losing streak.
• Team came out flat for some reason, but kept composure and battled back.
• Team came out better in the second half with energy and built up lead.
• Was up 12 with about 3 minutes. This was a good coaching moment. Allowed him to coach down the stretch with a closer lead. Thought team did well, but wish they would have finished a bit better.
• Proud of the win for the team and for the ACC.
• After a loss it takes time to heal. You have to wait for next game. The team were sick after Bahamas losses. Now team is well.
• Not a deep team, but likes Omer’s firepower off the bench. Might start him at some point. Sam Hunt hasn’t played well lately but give him credit. He came in a made big shots. Lavar Batts came off the bench with great energy and turned things around
• Keatts thinks going big (Lennard and Omer on the floor together) worked well and might use that more often.
• Markell hasn’t practiced well lately and did not play well. Credit Markell though. He did not pout when he didn’t start the second half. He came in and made a few big plays and knocked down some FTs.
• Abu’s injury not a serious setback. Not sure if he’ll play Saturday, but he just is sore and not 100%. Won’t play again until he is 100%.
• No plays in the playbook when you are down 11-0. Just had to chop away at lead. When it was 11-5 told the guy to not be surprised when they get the lead. They did.
• Omer has much more confidence. Team trusts him. He is working harder now. He’s understanding how to guard ball screens and not pick up bad fouls. Doing a great job.
• Thinks team is a much better shooting bunch then we’ve seen. What you saw tonight was what they see in practice everyday. This is a good shooting team. Some of the bad shooting was because guys were tired and team isn’t deep. Guys have the green light. Anywhere around 23 3s per game is good. When you get to 30,that is way too many.