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AUDIO: Keatts talks to the media after upset win against UVA

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Kevin Keatts talked to the media after NC State’s win over #15 UVA. Here is the full audio and, if you don’t have time, below is a quick-hitting recap of his statements.

 

Bulleted Recap:

  • Focus over the last two or three weeks has been playing complete games. For the first half, played just about perfect for 17 minutes. Second half had a few issues.
  • Proud of how his team is competing with lots of fight.
  • Beyond COVID, to lose experienced guards to injury and have young guys step up is tremendous.
  • Happy for the guys and how they’ve handled success, not easy to win this many in a row on the road.
  • Feels biggest thing is complete team buy-in. Mentioned how the bench is just as excited as those on the floor.
  • UVA might be the best defensive team in the country, so to start with three straight three pointers was tremendous. Bigs played big and changed how UVA had to defended.
  • The strength of our team is our inside presence. When things run through DJ and Bates, it opens up others elsewhere.
  • Shoutout to Bates having three assists, “Probably equal to what DJ has done in the last two years”.
  • Biggest adjustment, defensively, was slowing down Murphy and Huff. Move them out of shooting positions and have continued pressure.
  • Believes you have to have confidence and may have asked young guys to grow up faster than they want. In order for State to be successful, it has to be a team effort because State wont have the single player going off for 30+ a game.
  • Has taken the coaching mentality that there are no freshmen on the team. Needs to have players develop and feel comfortable taking leadership roles.
  • Hayes, Moore and Seabron get the spotlight, but all other freshmen have improved. Wish he could play them more, but at this time, need to get wins and feels comfortable with his core group of seven rotating in.
  • Cam Hayes was one of the best players early, COVID halt hurt him the most, now he’s got that confidence back.
  • Whatever you do, don’t order or ask about ice cream until after the game!

 

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NC State Basketball

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

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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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NC State Basketball

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

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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.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Horne Named to Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team

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NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

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In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.

Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Utah Guard Transfer Deivon Smith

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NC State has reached out to Utah Transfer Guard Deivon Smith (6’0″/173).

Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.

Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.

At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.

NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.

 

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