Connect with us

NC State Basketball

What Kevin Keatts had to Say After NC State’s Win over FIU: BULLETED

Published

6 months ago

on

NC State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s win over FIU on Tuesday night. You can watch it here, or check out a BULLETED breakdown below.

  • As far as the game goes I thought we did a tremendous job and played hard.
  • Everything didn’t go well, we didn’t make every shot even though sometimes it felt like we had stretches where we didn’t miss.
  • We talk about sometimes the hardest playing team positions themselves to win.
  • Jarkel Joiner was fabulous.
    • He did a great job of scoring the ball and when we needed him, he got really hot.
  • And I was so proud of Casey Morsell.
    • You know he really shot the ball well…he ran the floor…he did some good stuff…he drove the ball.
    • He had a mixed bag in this game.
  • Ernest Ross played well.
  • LJ Thomas did a great job.
  • Breon [Pass] came on and played well.
  • So it was a good team win. We found a way to win on both ends of the floor tonight.
    • This was very similar, in my opinion, to the way we played the Austin Peay game.
  • When you’re a good player and you don’t have a good shooting night you somehow have to figure out how to effect the game.
    • You know he [Terquavion Smith] still had 6 assists and 6 steals (may be most by a player since Keatts has been here), but it was good just to see some other guys step up when he didn’t have to go for 25 to 30 points a game.
    • I thought that everybody chipped in.
    • I don’t worry about him. He’s going to be fine. But he still did a great job in effecting the game.
    • You know you’re good when you don’t have a big night and people ask if you’re ok.
    • He’s fine. He just didn’t shoot well. I wish he could have 30 every game, but he just didn’t tonight, he had 15 though.
  • He [Casey Morsell] didn’t settle.
    • I thought this game was effective because earlier in the game he drove the ball.
    • When you look back at his first couple of games, they were all 3 pointers. He never really drove the ball.
    • He had a couple backdoor cuts.
  • I think tonight we got 79 shots or 76 shots up.
    • You know when you mix your game up and you can put the ball on the deck a little bit more it helps you.
  • He’s [Jarkel Joiner] huge.
    • It’s great to have a veteran Point Guard and you know he’s a tremendous personality.
    • He’s great in the locker room. He’s a good basketball player and he’s good for our team because you know he’s a team 1st guy.
    • He’s kinda trying to figure out ‘Alright do I get everybody involved, or when is it time to score’ and I think he’s doing a good job with it.”
  • He’s [LJ Thomas] getting better. You know he’s going to be in the mix of coming in and being able to play.
    • I like him and Breon [Pass] both coming in as Guards off the bench and both giving us a lift on both ends of the floor.
    • I’m proud of LJ. He didn’t play last game, but you wouldn’t have known that.
      • He didn’t hang his head. He went back to work the last couple days.
      • He earned the minutes he played.
  • Thought he [Greg Gantt] was fine.
    • He’s rusty, but he’s playing.
    • He’s a tremendous kid, and I think sometimes he gets blamed or it’s a lot of jokes about Greg Gantt.
    • If Greg Gantt could be out there every game, he would be.
    • He’s been beat up, so it hasn’t been fair with some of the things said about him.
    • That being said, I’m excited he came in and did what he did and he’ll get better.
    • He’ll get more healthy. He’s still not 100 percent, but he’s gonna give you what he’s got.
  • I told our radio guys, I thought the score was going to be 120-110 and the way it started off, it was really slow. It was a lot of fouls and I was like, ‘Man, I lied to everybody.’
    • Then we got going. We started making 3’s and kind of blew things open.
    • We like to play things fast, and I thought we did a good job getting out in transition.
    • We forced a lot of turnovers, we got a lot of steals and that’s the way we want play. 

Related Topics:

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.

1 Comment
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Afterglow
Afterglow
6 months ago

Who’s talking stuff about Gregg Gantt???

0

NC State Basketball

D.J. Burns is OFFICIALLY BACK!

Published

1 month ago

on

April 27, 2023

By

Well, it’s OFFICIAL. D.J Burns will be returning to NC State for his final year of collegiate eligibility!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DJ Burns / BIG 30♨️ (@dj.b30)

This confirms everything I’d been hearing about the return of Burns. Burns was the key to the Wolfpack offense running effectively this past year. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but he elevated his game in ACC play, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games.

Burns is celebrating his return to run with the Wolfpack by dropping his own Big 30 merch. Go over and snag something.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Isaiah Miranda is an Early Entry Candidate for the 2023 NBA Draft

Published

1 month ago

on

April 26, 2023

By

The NBA released the names of the 242 players that have filed as early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2023 last night, and NC State’s Isaiah Miranda’s name was on the list.

Miranda (7’1″/225) joined the Wolfpack back in December, deciding to forgo the remainder of his prep season. Miranda didn’t see the court for NC State, resulting in a redshirt season.

ON3 ranked Miranda as the #16 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.

It makes perfect sense for a player like Miranda, with his height and athleticism, to go through the draft process to be evaluated on what he needs to continue to work on. As an early entrant, Miranda has the ability to pull his name out of the draft and remain a collegiate athlete.

I don’t expect Miranda to keep his name in the hat when the time comes. From what I hear his game has tons of potential, but he still needs to fine tune his craft. Also, Miranda shared this on social media, implying he will be back in the Red and White next year.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra Commits to NC State

Published

1 month ago

on

April 24, 2023

By

NC State picked up their 5th transfer today. Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) committed to run with the Wolfpack today while in Raleigh on an Official Visit.

Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

With news breaking today that Dusan Mahorcic entered the Transfer Portal, the Wolfpack found his replacement. NC State’s frontcourt in 2023-24 currently will be made up of D.J. Burns, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra and Ernest Ross.

Check out these highlights of Diarra.

There is a lot to like in Diarra’s game. He is athletic, can hit a jump shot, put the ball on the floor, can play defense on the perimeter, block shots, and is an aggressive rebounder.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra is On an Official Visit to NC State Today

Published

1 month ago

on

April 24, 2023

By

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) is on an Official Visit to NC State today. Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Diarra entered the Transfer Portal on March 28th.

Continue Reading