VIDEO: Kevin Keatts’ Press Conference after NC State’s 105-55 Victory over Mount St. Mary’s

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack beat Mount Saint Mary’s 105-55 in their 2018 season opener. The VIDEO is below, with a BULLETED breakdown underneath.

• It was a good game because we were able to see two different teams. We have a couple of guys who haven’t played a meaningful game in a year-and-a-half. Thought guys came out with jitters to start the game. Once we settled in, I thought we played great.
• I think we finished the game on a 51-14 run, which was good for us. Our press got involved.
• DJ Funderburk was one point from being in double-digits.
• Thought we shared the basketball and didn’t turn it over. We were able to force some turnovers. That’s my vision for how I want us to play.
• I knew we were going to start off slow, but was glad we were able to finish the game.
• We’ll take this tape and learn from it. Early on, we had some defensive breakdowns that I want to clean up. You’ll look at it and say that they shot 32%, and we held them to 55 points. I’m always looking for perfection on the defensive end.
• When we get out in transition, and we start playing, we can be a very good basketball team.
• When we were struggling, I thought Markell Johnson and Torin Dorn stepped up and made a couple of big plays. They played like guys that were in the program last year. Also, I could say the same thing about CJ Bryce. He had a few great rebounds and everything else. It’s important for the guys who have played for me before to lead by example, and those three guys did.
• I took Torin Dorn out at the end, because I told him if I don’t take him out, I was going to mess his average up from three. It’s good for some of those guys seeing the ball going in. With Braxton Beverly, we are a really good three-point shooting team. Without him, we are average.
• Still trying to figure out which combinations play well together. If we need to play a traditional lineup, I can play DJ Funderburk at the 4.
• Markell Johnson is one of the best point guards in the ACC when he plays. He’s not a guy who is hunting shots. An ideal game for Markell, would be to have 10 assists and 8 points.  That’s ok, but with this team , as a veteran, he has to be able to score the basketball. We needed him to, and he did tonight.
• I thought that CJ Bryce got in a groove, but I never thought that Devon Daniels did. He never hit his stride, which is probably a good thing for him and us. We’ll be able to look at the film, and see some of the things to work on. Thought he forced a couple of shots. That’s ok. We went through some of the same stuff early in the year last year with Al Freeman. Once we told him what a good shot was, and he started sharing the basketball, he became a good player for us.
• I think we’re going to see a lot of zone this year. Coaches around the country are going with a little bit of man and a little bit of zone. It was good because our guys did a good job sharing the ball throwing over the top.
• We were playing man-to-man press, but when we went to our “diamond” press, I think it changed the game around.
• We take pride in stopping guys, so I’m not happy with anyone scoring 24 points. If they do, I want them to shoot a bad average. I thought he (Gibbs) got too many open shots. He played a good game.
• I’ll give you a secret. Most guys that come out of the game are the ones that broke down on defense. If they breakdown on a defensive assignment, they are coming out of the game.