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NC State Basketball

Kevin Keatts Talks Wake Forest: BULLETED

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6 years ago

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NC State head coach Kevin Keatts talked to the media today heading into tomorrow’s matchup against rival UNC. You can watch it in full here, but here is what he had to say in BULLETED form.

  • Stats he looks at are rebounding stats, deflection stats (which are never on stat sheet), steals, and forced turnovers.  Offensively looks at fast break opportunities, offensive rebounds, assists, paint touches,PI Note: This is a very important take right here. This gives you insight into what he values as a coach. Most everyone focuses on FG% numbers, but Keatts does not mention that. In the analytics-era, most have gravitated toward the Ken Pom deep-stats, but NC State continues to prove a lot of those wrong by winning games they predict they’ll lose. Is Keatts on to something here? We’ll go in-depth on this in the coming weeks.
  • Needed Batts against Syracuse. Freshmen need to come in and figure out where they fit in. Needed his defense against those 2 guards. Kept them out of the lane. Braxton didn’t do a great job defending the ball and Lavar came in and gave a great spark.
  • Rewatched the Wake Forest game. I don’t think we played well. It was a one possession game with a minute-and-a-half to play in the game. Too many breakdowns. We are a better team now, so are they. Coming off a big win over Georgia Tech. Moore is playing unbelievable basketball. Different team on their home floor.
  • We are a better group than we were a month ago. That was when Markell was just getting back. We share the ball better now. Roles are more established. We are more confident. That doesn’t equal wins. Still have to play the game.

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Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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15 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

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.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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19 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

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.

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.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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1 day ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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NC State Basketball

Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

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