Keatts presser after loss to Miami : BULLETED

Published

6 years ago

January 21, 2018

NC State fell to Miami 86-81. After the game, Kevin Keatts met with the media to discuss the loss. Above if the full presser and below is the summary in bulleted form.

Tremendous offensive game from both teams. Both teams shot over 50% against good defenses. Anytime that happens there is a lot to work on defensively.
Offensively played well. Share the ball. 22 assists on 31 made FGs. Guys played loose, but defensively, just couldn’t get stops. We’ll go back and clean that up.
Miami came out shot well and shared the ball. Ended with 26 assists. Great passing led to good shots for them.
Becoming a threat offensively because Omer can step out and shoot. Becoming a very good basketball team. This is 4th time playing a ranked team. They are good. We had chances. When team gets down by 12, you learn a lot about them. Guys fought and put themselves in position to win the game.
Miami came in shooting 34% from 3. Every team has that game where they break out. This was theirs. Scouting report was to ‘short-close out’ on them and they capitalized. Credit their passing for good looks.
If you are going to be a good shooting team, you need to be a great passing team.
Uncharacteristic turnovers. Markell had 6. Needs to stop driving and jumping. He gets stuck. Working with him to stop that.
But both teams played fast paced and with energy. Unfortunate that either team had to lose. Great game on the offensive end.
Markell is getting there, but conditioning is not where it needs to be. Probably played too much in this one, but he was playing well. Confidence is growing, but he needs to shoot more. He’s happy with 14 assists, but he’s capable of scoring.
Did not guard the ball. Miami wants to go one on one and break you down. Told guys I was proud of them and they played hard, but we will go back and get better at guarding the basketball.
Wonder if any ACC team played 4 ranked teams in a 7 game span. Proud of these guys. People didn’t think this team was capable of winning the games they’ve won. A couple possession here and this and this is a win.
Abu having foul trouble, but real problem is too many defensive breakdowns. If you are going to play on this team, you are going to limit breakdowns.
Happy with this team. They are fighting and clawing. Exciting to watch. Continuing to get better. Loves this group and they’re right in the mix of things in the ACC.

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

9 hours 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

1 day 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

1 day 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.