NC State Basketball

VIDEO: Kevin Keatts Press Conference After NC State Lost at FSU 78-73

Published

5 years ago

March 3, 2019

Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with the media in his postgame press conference after NC State lost to Florida State 78-73 down in Tallahassee yesterday. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

Have to give Florida State credit. They did a great job taking care of home court advantage.
We had our chances, especially late in the second half.
We cut the lead, and it seemed like every time we cut the lead they did a great job making a big play, whether it was an offensive rebound or getting a steal.
The second half was the big difference in the game.
- They got to the free throw line a lot more than we did in the second half.
- 50/50 plays.
It’s different for us (on dressing 9), not too much on the offensive end, but defensively because we like to rotate guys in.
- Typically, we have the 5 guys that start the game. Like to have a backup in each position. One man short.

I thought they fouled and we didn’t know, and I had to go back and look at it (On expecting Florida State to foul on the last three-point lead (76-73))
- We got a stop on DJ Funderburk’s 5th foul.
  - I don’t know what happened there.
  - On the late whistle I thought we were going to the other end, but he ran in and called a foul.
  - I haven’t watched the tape yet.
DJ Funderburk has gotten better.
- Needed that for this team.
- Can certainly score inside, but also outside.
- Rebounding was great.
- Giving us 18 points.
- I think that will be big for us moving forward.
I thought Torin (Dorn), Markell (Johnson) and Braxton (Beverly) were very aggressive in the 2nd half.
- At halftime all 3 of those guys had a combined 5 points, and I thought they played up.
He’s (Trent Forrest) tough because he gets in the paint.
- Give Trent a lot of credit, he knows who he is.
- He doesn’t try to do anything outside of his game.
- When you have a point guard whose content with running the offense and then scoring when he has to, you have a good thing going.
I thought we drove because we were able to get paint touches.
- They do a great job denying wings, and a lot of the time you have 1-on-1 drives.
- I thought in the 1st half we didn’t do a great job of finishing.
- We made certain shots, where we talked about guys going off two feet making strong moves.
I think the biggest challenge when preparing for Florida State is they play 11 guys. You have to concentrate on personnel opposed to a team.
Other than Kabengele, you don’t have a lot of guys scoring points.
- So a team like this is tough.
- On any given night, you don’t know who can lead in scoring.
I told my guards you have to adjust to the way they call it.
Sometimes it depends. Some games they allow you to play a little bit more.
I heard Florida State fans say, “let us play a little bit.” I was for that.

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

1 day ago

April 23, 2024

Matthew Bradham

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

View this post on Instagram

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.

NC State Basketball

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

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Matthew Bradham

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.

NC State Basketball

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

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Matthew Bradham

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.