Kevin Keatts Talks UNC, Pitt, Ice Cream, & Yurt : BULLETED

Yesterday, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts talked to the media heading into the Wolfpack’s matchup against rival UNC on Saturday. You can watch it in full here, but here is a bulleted breakdown:

• Ice Cream after road wins started during his tenure at UNCW. Did it for 3 years there, and brought the tradition here. Did it in Italy and the Bahamas as well. “Our guys are still kids man. They love ice cream and gummy bears.”
• Pitt wasn’t an ideal situation. Wished they were up big and wouldn’t have to come back. Thinks guys are starting to believe in the team and the way they press and run. Don’t ever feel like they are out of a game. Thinks their conditioning is kicking in the last 4 or 5 games. Did a great job defending in the final 4-5 minutes against Wake and Pitt.
• Malik Abu is trying to get back in shape. He’s not the Malik he was before he hurt his knee. Expecting (hopefully) for his role to increase as the season goes on. What’s happening is they are starting to get combinations of players on the floor that are playing well together.
• UNC’s Luke Maye is playing as well as anyone he’s seen in the conference. He’s shooting at a big rim. Scoring inside and out.
• Impressed with Omer Yurtseven. When a player gets better every game, it means something, because you’ve been putting in a lot of hard work with him. He’s one of the 1st guys at practice, and the last one to leave. A lot of players see their scoring go down when they get to conference play, but he’s been steady.
• Everybody talks about the opportunity to play against Duke and UNC. His first time going through the ACC. Every game is so important to him. Every game means so much. Not to diminish this game vs. the other ones, but it’s an important game because it’s the next game on the schedule.