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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts’ Presser after NC State Beat Maine 82-63

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Head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media in his postgame press conference after NC State’s 82-63 victory over Maine yesterday. The video is ABOVE and a billeted breakdown is BELOW.

  • Controlled the tempo in the first half. They did a great job of
    moving the ball around, burying the clock in the second half, and limiting our possessions.
  • This is a very good game for us because we want to try and get out and run as much as we can. Playing in the ACC, teams will try and get you more into a half-court game. I think we can take this tape and learn from it. I give these guys credit. This group of men has never played against a pressured offense. When you’re a pressure team and you deny passing lanes, you get back cut a few times. Overall, I think it will be a good learning experience for us. We will be able to chop the tape up and show what we need to get better at.
  • I’m excited. Never take a win for granted. Extremely happy that we are 4-0 right now.
  • I don’t look ahead. I only prepare for the appointments ahead of us. We have a new group of guys. When you think about it as I said before, we have only three guys that wore NC State uniforms and some of these things have helped us. All of the games will help us. As the schedule goes on, I think we will see some tougher competition, but I’ve liked the teams that we have played and what we have gotten out of it. Playing Maine today with their style will really help us when we get into the ACC.
  • Our zone offense was fine. We made more shots in the first half than we did in the second half behind the three-point line, but I thought it was fine. We got everything we wanted out of it. We missed some shots in the second half and we missed some open looks, but I was fine with it.
  • The first three of the four games we have come out of the gate fast. We did some good things and we knew in the last couple of days that we were going to have some breakdowns. We knew that we were going to have some backdoor cuts on us based on the way we deny the passing lane. For the most part we handled it well even though we had some breakdowns.
  • We’re probably going to have some type of walk-on trial. If you asked our guys, they wouldn’t want to add another guy. They like the fact they get the chance to play. I like the balance of our team right now. I don’t think anybody is playing over 25 minutes in the first four games. It’s worked out pretty well for us so far, but we probably will add a couple guys to the roster sooner or later. Sacha (Killeya-Jones. Sitting out this year after transferring from Kentucky) is the only guy that practices with us, and Manny (Bates) is out because of a shoulder injury.
  • We had originally signed a really big group of freshmen and I didn’t want to have five or six freshmen. Tough to win with freshman. He was available and I’ve known Eric (Lockett) for quite a long time. With his versatility, he’s a guy in college last year who averaged about 14 points a game. He reminds me a lot of Torin Dorn. He can do a little bit of everything.
  • C.J. Bryce is starting to fill the stat sheet in a similar way that he did in Wilmington.
  • Devon Daniels is starting to play a little bit better, especially in the last game. Then you have Dorn and Lockett. We’ve got four or five guys that are all similar size that can do some different stuff.
  • I like our intensity, but I thought we were flat a little bit at times. I give credit to Maine. Anytime we were in a situation where they were playing five out, they drove our post guys away from the basket and were able to reverse the ball.
  • I like our effort. Our effort has been great. We just played with a different team that didn’t want to run with us. When you look at those guys, they didn’t want to push much in transition. They got in transition when they had it, but they just didn’t try to push it in transition.
  • I’m excited about this game, probably more than the rest of them. When you get the chance to play in the ACC, you’ve got all different types of teams. We’ll face someone who plays similar basketball, not identical, but similar.

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.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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A post shared by Tipton Edits (@tiptonedits)

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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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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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.

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NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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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.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Horne Named to Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team

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NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

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In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.

Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.

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