It’s time to take the reins off Manny Bates

It’s not clear whether Kevin Keatts has limited Manny Bates’ minutes because he’s a freshman, because of his injury history, because of fear of foul-outs, or because he simply doesn’t fully trust him yet. Maybe it’s a combination of them all, but Bates came into the game against Pitt averaging only 18.7 minutes per game.

Now, when you look at Bates’ stat line, 18.7 minutes per game seems like a lot. The freshman big man is averaging 5 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 blocks per game, but if you’ve watched NC State recently you may have noticed that they are a much better team when he’s on the floor.

Keatts likes to press. He likes to apply pressure defense and he likes to switch every screen. While this is supposed to create havoc for opposing guards and result in turnovers, it hasn’t. NC State is ranked 78th nationally in steals. They aren’t creating turnovers and thus aren’t really getting ou in transition. So they don’t have much to show for the risks they are taking on defense. Meanwhile, opposing teams are getting a lot, and I mean a lot, of easy buckets as NC State is constantly in help and recover.

Enter Manny Bates.

The freshman big is leading the ACC, ranked in the top-10 nationally and has already set the Pack’s single-season rookie record for blocked shots.  When he’s in the game, he gives the Pack that last line of rim protection that they are lacking. Having him protect that back-line allows them to gamble defensively and still makes it tough for the opposition to score if they break the press.

And look at NC State this season. They aren’t struggling to score, they’re struggling to stop people. Which makes it even more perplexing why Bates finds himself on the bench for long stretches in a lot of games.

Take this past weekend’s UNC game. His stat line may look modest with 4 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks, but Bates only played 14 minutes. He only finished the game with 3 fouls.  Meanwhile when he was on the floor NC State outscored UNC 28-13. When Bates was on the bench, UNC out-scored the Pack 72-51.

So what gives? Maybe after 2 fouls in the first half, Keatts didn’t want him to pick up his third in the first half, but really what good does it do? Bates isn’t a guy that you need to rely on for offense. If you get down late, you don’t need him on the floor. So if you’re winning with him on the floor early, why not just keep him out there until he either can’t go any longer or he picks up his 5th?

You have to wonder if some of that was realized over the past few days as Bates saw 27 minutes of action (the most he’s seen in the past 6 games). Or maybe it wasn’t and you got to see that when Manny Bates gets his minutes, he produces.

Bates set a career-high with 13 points and notched his first double-double with 10 rebounds. He also blocked a whopping 5 shots and altered who knows how many. He was the difference-maker in State’s 77-73 win over Pitt and helped keep the Pack’s NCAA hopes alive.

Now, there will be some games where Bates just isn’t going to be a great matchup due to his inability to step out on quicker bigs, but those times are going to be few and far between.

Although Keatts wants to be a fast-paced, run and gun type of team, it may be time to admit that the Pack’s best chances of winning may be rolling out the twin towers (Bates and Funderburk) in the middle for 25+ minutes per night and taking the reins off of Manny Bates.