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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts’ Press Conference After NC State Falls to Georgia Tech 63-61 (BULLETTED)

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5 years ago

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NC State suffered a devastating 63-61 loss to Georgia Tech last night with the regular season winding down. Below are the videos of head coach Kevin Keatts’ postgame press conference, and a BULLETED breakdown is underneath.

  • Give Georgia Tech a lot of credit. I thought they made some plays down the stretch that we didn’t.
  • I really like my team, but we just came up short.
    • I love my guys. I think my guys have worked hard.
    • It is unfortunate that we lost the game, and I say we, I don’t say them.
  • Going into this game, I was a little concerned because I thought we weren’t practicing well.
    • In particular, I thought in practice we didn’t shoot the ball well.
    • We didn’t do a great job in practice guarding stuff. We had to go over it several times.
  • It’s unfortunate because we had an opportunity here and obviously came up short.
  • We need to figure out how to go on the road and play Boston College at their place.
  • We were in man-to-man and onto them with six seconds to go.
    • It’s hard because we didn’t want to foul, and we know he’s a good free throw shooter.
    • We wanted to make him catch it the other way, and he got a running start and was able to push the ball.
    • It’s unfortunate when you give a good guard six seconds. That’s plenty of time to get down the floor.
    • I thought he did a great job of getting the ball up the floor and made a play. Player made a play.
  • I think it is hard to tell (On NCAA Tournament bid).
    • I don’t know who lost today because I try not to follow it that much.
    • I know everybody talks about bubbles and no bubbles, but I think we will be able to get a clear picture after we play Boston College on the road, and then obviously when we play in the ACC Tournament.
    • I don’t think anybody knows because of the new system of the Net Rankings, so it can go totally different then any selection before.
  • We are still a young team.
    • Most teams have more than three guys returning.
    • What happens with us is even though we have played a lot of games, with so many new pieces, this team is still searching for a leader.
    • There is no consistency as who is the best defender or best offensive guy, but sometimes that shows up.
  • Give Markell Johnson credit. At the end of the game, he completely took the game over.
  • I thought it really hurt us when DJ Funderburk fouled out of the game.
  • We can’t have a night where CJ Bryce and Braxton Beverly shoot for a combined 1-16, especially when the team is playing a zone.
    • Usually they shoot the ball a lot better than that and when those two guys aren’t making plays for us, it is going to be a long night for us.
    • CJ Bryce and Braxton Beverly didn’t lose the game.
  • We didn’t make enough shots. I thought we got some looks but we just weren’t sharp enough.
  • As a team, I can think of 10 to 15 plays that lost the game leading up to it.
    • We were lucky to be in the game.
    • I thought Torin (Dorn) hit a great shot that gave us the chance to win the game.
  • I don’t think DJ Funderburk got shots through our offense in the first half.
    • He was just tremendous at offensive rebounding, so most of his shots came off of offensive rebounds. Every shot that he made was an offensive rebound. He got some shots in the first half where he missed a three and a jump shot, but he was so aggressive getting to the offensive glass, which is where his shots came from.
  • I feel really bad for Torin Dorn because you like to win on Senior Night, and what a great ending it would have been if he had hit that three and they didn’t make a shot at the end. I feel bad.
    • We are talking about a great kid that plays extremely hard.
    • In the last four or five years he has played for five different coaches.
    • He accepts his responsibilities and has thrived in my system.
    • I wish there were more kids like him. You never hear anything about him off the court.
    • He has already graduated and is working on his Master’s degree.
    • He allows us to play small because of the way he can rebound the basketball.
  • I thought Georgia Tech’s defense was effective because we settled for some threes instead of driving it.
    • We knew coming in that we would be able to get some shots from the short corner, which we got, but we just didn’t make them.
    • And then I thought some guys that I thought we needed to drive the ball a little bit more were settling for three point shots.

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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

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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4 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. 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 #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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1 day ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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2 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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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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NC State Basketball

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

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3 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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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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