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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts Talks After NC State’s 97-64 Victory Over Loyola Maryland

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5 years ago

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NC State improved to 12-1 after their 97-64 victory over Loyola Maryland to close out the non-conference slate. Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with the media in his postgame press conference afterwards. The video of what he had to say to the media afterwards is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • I’m excited about our team. I just told the team that I thought we did a tremendous job in non-conference play.
  • If you had told me that we would be 12-1, I would’ve taken it. Obviously, we had our chances to be 13-0.
  • This team has grown in a lot of areas and I’m proud of them, because we‘ve gotten better. We have been able to develop our depth Some guys have gotten some playing time lately that I think will really help us when we get into ACC play.
  • I look at the season in thirds
    • 1st third of the season is the non-conference
    • ACC play is the second
    • Postseason is the third
  • I’m happy with where we are. Obviously, we have to get better, because the competition will continue to get better as we move forward.
  • I am proud of the way that these guys have taken care of business…how professional they’ve been…and how hard they’ve worked throughout the non-conference games. I am excited about it and we are ready for the ACC.
  • The last three games we’ve turned the ball over too much, which is very uncharacteristic of us. Need to get back to taking care of the basketball. When you look at it, we are doing a great job passing the ball and having high assists games.
  • We had great defense with 13 blocks, which is the second-most blocks ever in PNC Arena. We were sharing the ball with 25 assists tonight.
    • Yet, we are starting to turn the ball over, which I don’t like.
  • What I like about our team is the versatility we have. We can play a lot of guys at a lot of different positions.
  • D.J. Funderburk and Wyatt Walker have become very reliable for us on the rebounding end, which I know was a concern for a lot of folks coming into the season. They’ve really gotten better.
  • I love our depth, communication, and how we play together. It’s a lot better right now than it was at the beginning.
  • I’m excited man, that guy (Jericole Hellems) is a bucket. He scores the ball. If I can get him to ever pass, I would be a heck of a coach. He is playing very good basketball and is a talented freshman. We knew coming in that he would only get better. He is the one guy on my team that I can tell you can score the ball inside and out. He is starting to finish around the basket. When you look at the last 3 games, he has led us in deflections, which is great.
  • Markell Johnson was low energy. When you are low energy, you aren’t going to play for me. He didn’t play today because I thought his energy was really low and I have too many guys that work extremely hard.’
    • I love him. He’s a heck of a player, and he’s going to be very good. I’m not mad at him. For me, it’s not about the guy that scores the most points, but the guy who plays the hardest. I want more energy from him moving forward, especially on the defensive end.
  • I am happy about my team. Certainly we have a lot of things to work on moving forward, just like everyone else. I am proud of these guys.
  • When we got back to practice on December 26th, it was an awful practice…probably like everyone else around the country, because they’d been out 3.5 days. I was miserable for 12 to 14 hours before I started calling my colleagues in the business. They said that they had bad practices too, and I was okay with it then.

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Basketball

Georgia Center Transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe Visited NC State this Week

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6 hours ago

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May 8, 2024

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Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) was in for a visit to NC State yesterday, according to a source.

Anselm-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.

Back in 2020, Anselm-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.

Anselm-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.

ECU Power Forward Transfer Ezra Ausar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago, and while things were looking good at first, at this point, it seems like things have reached a point of radio silence. From what I’m hearing, NC State would definitely take Ausar, but they aren’t going to wait for him either.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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2 days ago

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May 7, 2024

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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5 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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6 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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