Kevin Keatts presser after UMKC win :: Bulleted

Kevin Keatts met with the press after NC State’s 88-69 win over UMKC. Above is the full interview, below are the cliff notes.

• Didn’t know what to expect with the long layoff but team came out strong and played one of the best defensive halves they have all season. Held them to 24 points and took away 3s.
• Torin Dorn played great, had 17 boards. Markell Johnson practiced great this week and had a great offensive game.
• This is a group that is getting better. Would loved to have seen a better 2nd half, especially on defense but that will be worked on.
• 1-0 when Keatts wears the red jacket, we could see it again. Reynolds was a great atmosphere and special place.
• Have stressed getting off to a good start and did in the past 2 games. Missed shots early on, but team came out strong.
• Dorn has been very active. Rebounding is about ‘want-to’ and Keatts has talked to him about rebounding. He allows State to go small at times and still be ok on the glass. Helped out tonight with 17 boards, 6 of them offensive.
• Wasn’t able to get into the press in the 2nd half. Team wasn’t sharp offensively and that didn’ t get many opportunities to press.
• Excited to see Abu out there. He was a little anxious and timing was off. Will take some time to get him back at full speed. 9 or 10 minutes were appropriate for him today.
• Abu is playing extremely hard. He’s excited to be out there. Right now his main goal is to just go out there and rebound.
• A lot of rebounding opportunities led to NC State’s season-high performance. Most came in the 1st half. Team really defended well in the first half and made them take tough shots.
• Keatts challenged them to get a lot of offensive rebounds and they got 18.
• Too many turnovers. Team needs to improve, but with the style of play there are going to be some turnovers. Team had 16 assists and 15 turnovers. Would love to see less than 10 turnovers.