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Kevin Keatts’ Press Conference at ACC Media Day: TRANSCRIPT

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5 years ago

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NC State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts met with the media today at the 2019 ACC Media Day. Below is the transcript of what he had to say.

Q. Coach Keatts, good to see you again, glad you and the guys are here.
What I wanted to do is ask you this: Your teams have always been noted for being strong physically in the fourth stage of the game, fourth quarter of the game. Other than that, what are you stressing this year to the guys that you want to stand out with? What are those goals that you have for the team?

KEVIN KEATTS: Well, I appreciate you talking about my team being — we take pride in obviously being in great shape towards the end of the game. I think that one thing that we want to emphasize and what we have been talking about in the practice, is we want to be a really low turn over team.

What I mean by that, from us, obviously on defensive end, we try to turn guys over as much as we can and create tempo, but we don’t want — we want to play fast, but don’t want to turn the ball over ourselves. So that would be one of the things that we’re working on.

I do think that we have to become a better defensive rebounding team so that we can get out and run and transition and getting a few more easy baskets?

Q. Coach, just what can you say about the first couple of seasons at NC State building up the brand, creating that environment that you want? Just where things are at from when you stepped in, what you can say about that?

KEVIN KEATTS: That’s a great question. I’m excited about where we are entering year three. You know, if you told me that we were going to year three winning 45 games and beating six top 25 teams, I would tell you that we’re right on pace.

Obviously, we were all a little disappointed about the outcome of not making the NCAA Tournament last year, but that being said, we put that behind us and we’re really focused on moving on. I like our team. I like our pieces. For the first time since I have been at NC State, we have the most returners that we have ever had, which is seven.

Q. Coach, only three teams in the ACC average 80 points or better, Europe one of them. You preach about pushing the ball. Other teams in the league are not comfortable playing at your pace, 60s and 70s. Can you tell us, offensively and defensively, what’s required to play at the pace that you want to play at?

KEVIN KEATTS: You have to be in great shape in order to play in our system. That doesn’t mean that you can’t play in our system if you’re not in great shape, but your minutes won’t be there. We’re trying to get the ball out in transition as fast as we can.

I tell Markell and Braxton and C.J. all the time we want to run a three-second offense and fast break and try to get the ball up and try to score without setting the offense up.

Defensively, we want to create off the defense trying to get as many easy baskets as we can. I like where we’re at with our pace. Obviously, you know, scoring 80-plus points a game has been great for us. I would love to run even a little bit more if we could.

Q. Coach, from the podium, you show so much fire and enthusiasm on the sideline. Where do you get that energy from, and do you ever get tired come February and March?

KEVIN KEATTS: Yeah, I don’t — when it is basketball season, its basketball season. I don’t sleep. You know, I’m up all the time. You know, this is the most exciting sport that you can play in and be a part of. So I get excited about the opportunity.

I get a chance to work with great young men all the time, and to play the game the way we like to be played, that’s exciting to me. (ACC)

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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

ON3’s Jamie Shaw Puts in a Prediction Georgetown SF Transfer Dontrez Styles will Land at NC State

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6 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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ON3’s Jamie Shaw put in an RPM earlier today for Georgetown Small Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles to land at NC State. All-time, Shaw’s prediction accuracy is 87%.

I spoke with a source, and it seems like this prediction has some merit.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #66 overall prospect in the Portal.

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.

With his final year of eligibility, maybe he’ll make the right choice this time.

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NC State Basketball

Tennessee Guard Freddie Dilione V is Visiting NC State Tomorrow

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18 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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Tennessee Transfer Guard Freddie Dilone V (6’5″/195) is visiting NC State tomorrow.

Dilone V just wrapped up his Redshirt Freshman season with the Volunteers, averaging 1.7 points in 5.2 minutes of play per game (18 games).

In 2022, Dilone V was a consensus 4-Star prospect, and the #33 overall prospect nationally according to Rivals. ON3 and 247Sports both ranked Dilone V as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina, playing right down the road at Word of God Academy in Raleigh.

Currently, 247Sports ranks Dilone V as the #71 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #10 Combo Guard. He played his first three seasons of high school ball down in Fayetteville at Trinity Christian.

Dilone V has 3 more years of eligibility.

 

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NC State Basketball

PI EXCLUSIVE: 2024 4-Star Signee Paul McNeil Breaks Down His Thoughts On NC State’s Miraculous Run

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21 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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The run the NC State Men’s Basketball team went on in March had the whole country watching, but what was it like to watch through the eyes of an incoming Freshman who will be joining the team next year? 4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil shared his thoughts with me on the Wolfpack’s unforgettable run.

What was it like for you to watch NC State as the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament win 5 games in 5 days to win the Title?

What we did this year shows seeding doesn’t matter. What our guys did was just another level, and when you get between those lines, it’s a different type of static. I believe it took a lot of discipline and focus to win five games in five days. I also feel like the fan base played a huge part to the team by bringing extra energy and not making them feel alone.

What do you think happened to turn this team around?

You have to give God all the glory because without Him guiding us, we wouldn’t have made it how we made it. Also, it’s about the jersey you put on and the pride of it all. It’s like there’s no way we go out this way and they clicked at the right time. The team was just rolling and I also think the mentality of all the players changed.

As a player signed with NC State, how proud were you to see NC State go on this run, from the ACC Championship, to the Final Four?

I’m very proud of the guys. They deserved to win it all, but it just didn’t happen that way. I’ve been saying they were the best team in the ACC and I always knew we had the right pieces to be the best.

What does it mean for you to see Coach Keatts get the recognition he’s getting?

Oh man, he deserves it, especially coming from where he comes from and all the things he dealt with. With all the media attention, he still stayed focused and locked in towards the team. Coach Keatts is very blessed and very humble.

How do you think this run will help the future of NC State basketball?

It will put more eyes on us and teams know now to not overlook us and underestimate us ever again. It was never a Cinderella story — it was never ‘oh they just got lucky.’ This run will definitely help us a lot and I’m forever grateful for what the boys did.

_______

McNeil (6’7″/185) led Richmond to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs this season, before losing to #1 Hanover 55-53.

As a Senior at Richmond (Rockingham, NC), McNeil averaged 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.6 assists per game.

ON3 ranks McNeil as the #49 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #15 Small Forward, and the #6 player on the state of NC.

McNeil is a part of a 2-man 2024 Freshman Class that includes 4-Star Guard Trey Parker.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten

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2 days ago

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April 14, 2024

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NC State has shown interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten (6’3″).

VanSlooten is one of the top players in the Transfer Portal, averaging 15.0 points and 7.1 rebounds as a Sophomore this past season for the Ducks, earning All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention. In her first year, she was a member of the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.

NC State is returning all three starters in their backcourt, but are losing both starters in their frontcourt in River Baldwin and Mimi Collins.

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