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Keatts talks to media after loss to UNC : BULLETED

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6 years ago

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Kevin Keatts met with the media to discuss his team’s loss to UNC. Above is the full press conference and below is the summary in bulleted format.

  • Was wrong. Always say anytime you play a team twice it’s two different games. It wasn’t.
  • Great offensive game for both teams. Give UNC credit, plays we made at end of last game, they made this game.
  • Biggest play of the game was Kenny Williams hitting that late 3. Gave them separation.
  • Maye was really good. Tremendous. 33 points and 17 rebounds.
  • Proud of my guys. Fought until the end.
  • Told team they are becoming a very good team. Don’t accidentally beat Arizona, Duke, UNC, Clemson. Moving forward have to figure out how to not beat yourself.
  • Expectations coming into the season outside of program were pretty low. Picked 12th. Now in a situation where we are playing top teams in the country down to the wire.
  • Need to get guys to change expectation. Don’t want them to settle with where we are. Team is scoring on everybody, but need to figure out where to go from here.
  • Luke Maye had a great 2nd half. Switched a lot of different guys onto him. They shot 56% for the game, we shot 54%.
  • Team has done a great job running guys off the 3 point line. Most baskets have been 2’s. Happy with that part of defense.
  • Need to do better at closing the game and finishing plays at the end.
  • Excited about defense and game style. People make mistake looking at percentages. Go back adn look at overall game. Typically getting 10 more shots than the other teams because of forced turnovers. Percentages are a little deceiving. Looking more for how many steals, deflections and forced turnovers do we have.
  • Happy with the guard play. Guys did a good job keeping guys up front.
  • Pinson had a great night last time, team contained him today.
  • Went into the game knowing we had to keep them off offensive glass. Didn’t do it. Keep them out of transition. Did that okay. Keep them from getting open 3s. Did that. Only had 6. They had 11 vs Duke.
  • Wore red blazer at the UMKC game in Reynolds as well. It’s great. Knew Roy was going to come in with some Carolina blue blazer on, wasn’t going to let him show me up. I’m a way better dresser than him.
  • Batts didn’t play. Coaches’ decision.
  • Every couple games need to reset expectations. Team is in unchartered waters when you look at last couple years. Program has seen a lot of success, but last couple years they had 5 conference win and 4 conference wins. Got to reset and move forward.
  • Disappointed about the loss, but doesn’t hurt us now. About moving forward. That’s what is important.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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7 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. 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 #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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3 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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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.

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