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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts Presser After NC State Beat Western Carolina 100-67

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5 years ago

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NC State defeated Western Carolina 100-67 last night, improving to 8-1 on the year (Highlights). Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media in his postgame press conference after the game. The video is ABOVE and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • What an honor to have Pam Valvano and her daughters here for the special dedication for Jimmy Valvano. It was a great night and I’m glad that we could be apart of it.
  • Every time his speech comes on, I can’t turn it off. I have to listen to it. I’ve probably listened to it 2,000 times. It’s probably one of the best speeches I’ve ever heard. The reason: during his times of struggle, all he could think about was helping someone else.
  • As a basketball coach, we love to win. Yet we have to ask ourselves this: when you’re gone and no longer on Earth, how do people look at you? When you think about what he did, what he said, and how’s he helped raise so much money even though he’s not here anymore, you know that says so much about him as a man and as a person. I’m just proud to be here and honored to be a part of it.
  • I don’t have a number (of deflections) for the game, but I know we had 18 at the half. That gave me a chance to yell at them, because we’re supposed to have 20 per half. We turned them over 21 times in the second half, so I was happy with that. We had 33 for the game, so I would say we got over 40 deflections.
  • I love my team. I told you guys in the beginning of the year that what stands out about this team is its versatility. I just told those guys in the locker room that on any given night, if we stay together and fight together, anybody could lead us in scoring, and we could be a very good basketball team.
  • Blake Harris played great. Jericole Hellems was good (career high), anDevon Daniels was very good tonight.
  • I told them to embrace the moment. This is my 2nd chance to play in this electric building. What a great place. Add on the fact that there was the dedication to Jimmy Valvano, and it was unbelievable.
  • Devon Daniels had a couple of good days of practice. I feel you play the way you practice. He was locked in. It’s funny as a coach, and I told my assistant coaches today he would have a great game in here.
  • I’m going to petition this year that we can have our ACC games in Reynolds.
  • Blake’s (Harris) a good player. It’s tough when you come into a program and you’re a transfer, trying to figure out how you fit in. That’s what has happened to Blake so far, and I think now he understands what his role is.
  • The same thing has happened with all of our guys. Since we have so many new pieces, 1-by-1 you’ll see guys starting to play a little bit better because they’re starting to get comfortable with the system.
  • Here’s what’s happened with my shoes: I’ll give props to Takayo Siddle, my assistant coach, for my shoes. He calls me into his office and he says, “Coach, I have some shoes that you should buy. They’re head coaches shoes. I can’t get them.” I said, “Why can’t you get them? You make a lot of money.” He said, “Coach, they’re just head coaches shoes.” He showed me where to get them, and I went online. They’re Gucci wolves heads, and they just happened to match up great with NC State. As you guys know, I am a shoe guy. I had to have them, and I thought this was a special moment to pull them out.
  • I love Jericole (Hellems). As we continue to build the program, we need freshman like Jericole to play well and build the program, especially with a lot of transfers. If I can get more freshman to help build the program for the future, that’s great. He’s going to be good. His role right now, in his mind, is to come in and score. I want him to come in and play great defense and pass the ball, and then score. He’s going to be a good basketball player for us.

(Video via GoPack)

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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.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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7 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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11 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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16 hours 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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A post shared by NC State Basketball (@packmensbball)

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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