NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media today leading up to tomorrow’s matchup against #16 Duke in PNC Arena at 7pm on ACC Network. You can watch it here, or check out a bulleted breakdown below.
Duke
They’ve got great size. They’re long. They’re athletic.
They can defend you. That’s the biggest concern going into it. They’ve got great size.
We’re not going to play against many teams whose front court has a 6’7″ small forward and 2 7-footers at the 4 and 5. It just doesn’t happen that way
They do a good job.
They’re playing a lot of people.
They have great depth.
They have a 2-headed monster at the 5 position, and they can go 2-deep at every position.
They’ve got veteran guys playing with the young guys.
On some given nights, the young guys are better because they’re young and don’t know what they’re not supposed to know, but thus far, the older guys have been carrying them a lot.
It’s a good team.
They can get out in transition.
I think he [Jon Scheyer] runs a little bit more sets [than Coach K], but I haven’t played against him.
It’s still the same talent, and that’s what makes the difference.
They have one of the most talented rosters in the country, and you’ll see a lot of those guys playing soon in the NBA.
With some guys being out, they’ve been able to experiment with a lot of different lineups, and it’s actually worked for them.
It’s gotten a lot of guys a lot of experience in different situations.
We don’t know who’s going to start. We just know that, at some point, they’re going to play 9 or 10 guys.
When you look at what he [Jaylen Blakes] did against Wake Forest, him making shots completely changes them.
It gives them 2 guards, obviously, Jeremy Roach has been around for a long time and done a great job, but when you add him beside him and the way he’s playing, it gives them another dimension.
Loss of Dusan Mahorcic
We thought we had it figured out. We were fortunate enough to play 2 centers, 2 completely different guys.
Dusan was a guy who, I think, averaged 9 points and 7 rebounds, and we never ran a play for him.
He was a guy who would just run the floor, set great screens, rim run and get offensive rebounds.
Then we would bring DJ [Burns] in who was more of a half-court natural scorer.
Completely changed our team when he [Dusan] went out because DJ was playing about 18 minutes a game with Dusan at 22.
Then, we had to figure out how to adjust, and DJ ended up playing a lot more minutes than we would have liked.
DJ & Ebe Dowuona at Clemson
The biggest adjustment is that, even though DJ got into foul trouble at Clemson, it allowed Ebe Dowuona to have a chance to play a few more minutes.
If we can get him [Ebe] playing 15-20 minutes and playing more of the Dusan Mahorcic role, I think that’ll help us.
I need Ernest Ross, Ebe Dowuona, and those guys to step up and play the role of Dusan.
We’re going to rely on Ebe, and he and I talked.
He started 27 games last year, and he got to the point where he just played hard.
We want to get him to play that role, and it’s hard to get that role in today’s time, because everybody’s thinking more about scoring the basketball.
When you look at Dusan, he’s a throwback. He’s an older guy. He doesn’t need the basketball to be successful.
If we can get a guy like Ebe to play that role, I think it’ll help our team.
Jack Clark
I think what happened with Jack [Clark] is that we all, including myself, came into the season thinking he was going to shoot 40% from 3, and that’s unrealistic when you look at his career, the way he’s shot three-pointers, and his percentages.
I would say he’s doing everything we want him to do.
He’s leading us in rebounding.
He’s getting out and getting steals.
He’s playing hard.
We wish he was shooting it a little bit better, but I think that’ll come later on in the year.
Right now, I’m getting everything that I need from him until his shots start going behind the three-point line.
Terquavion Smith
You know I don’t doubt him.
We’ve talked about what’s a good shot for him and what we need for the team.
I don’t think he played well against Clemson, as we all know, and it was one of those games where, ‘I’m going to figure out how to play well.’
For the most part, I think he’s had an incredible year.
His assist-to-turnover ratio is 2-to-1.
He’s really playing good basketball.
I hope we can just remove that game where he went 5-for-21, but I think it was more who he was playing against opposed to him trying to be selfish.
Heading into Duke
I think we’re in a good headspace. Our guys have worked the last couple of days. Obviously, these are ACC games. It’s a home opportunity.
It’s a little different than when I coached 4 or 5 years ago. Every team has a Quad attached to them.
We used to always say, ‘If you go .500 in the ACC, it’s a lock to get into the tournament.’
Wake Forest won 13 games, and it didn’t happen.
Now, it’s about Quad opportunities.
We have a good Duke team coming in that’s a Quad 1 opportunity, and so our guys are looking forward to that and embracing the opportunity of playing an ACC team at home with a Quad 1 opportunity.
I think we’re playing good basketball.
We were one of those teams that were fortunate enough to have 11 wins going into Christmas break, and there weren’t many teams in the country that way.
We’ve done some really good stuff, and now we’re concentrating on all conference games.
We’re locked into opponents that we know and opponents that know us pretty well.
I think we’re playing decent. We’re like every team. There are a lot of things we can improve on, but I’ve got to be honest…I’m really happy with our guys and where we’re at now.
I’d like to have a different ACC record, but it’s a long year.
We have 16 games left, and we’ve figured out how to get to 11 wins. We’ve just got to build on the ACC schedule.
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.
From Wolfpack stats…. Bart Torvik currently gives State a 45% chance to make the tournament. A loss (to Duke) projects to drop them to 9%
Rev
2 months ago
I fell off the Keatts bandwagon on New Year’s Eve when I read the result of the Clemson game. He had a week to prepare for that game and his players were not ready to play. As Papajohn said, Keatts does not sound like a dead man walking, but he is. He has to be. I cannot imagine us going .500 in the remaining games, much less getting to .500 in ACC play. Maybe he is just counting the payout $$$$ that will bankrupt State and set the program back another 5 years. Not sure I’ll live even long enough… Read more »
Ok. Maybe I am just a fair weather fan. I have had all the frustration I can stand for twenty years. Then
THE PACK BEATS DOOK BY 24!
What a roller coaster ride.
Papajohn
2 months ago
Maybe he just doesn’t share this stuff in public, but I can’t believe he doesn’t realize that every game is a must win at this point. He should be in crisis mode 100% of the time. Every loss becomes an indictment of his coaching. It’s going to take an unbelievable turnaround at this point to save his job. We’ve got 16 regular season games left, we probably need to win at least 10 – including 3 or 4 Q1 wins – to even be considered for postseason. WF was left out with 13 ACC wins last season. I don’t think… Read more »
UNC Guard/Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/210) is expected to be visiting NC State soon. According to a source, he was expected to take an unofficial visit tomorrow, but it has been rescheduled to Monday.
Styles entered the Transfer Portal on March 17th.
Over the past two seasons, Styles has seen limited action for the Tar Heels, averaging 5.9 minutes in 45 total games (15 this season).
Styles is no stranger to NC State. He played high school for Kinston (Kinston, NC), and was offered by Kevin Keatts. Styles was a consensus 4-Star prospect coming out of High School. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally in the 2021 recruiting class, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
ON3 ranks Styles as the #21 player currently in the Transfer Portal.
Dunn averaged 15.3 points per game this season, earning 3rd Team All-AAC honors. He shot 41.1% from the field this season, and 34.8% from three-point land.
In 2021-22, he led the Owls in scoring (14.9), and earned 2nd Team All-AAC honors.
Dunn originally is from Kinston, North Carolina, but played his Senior season of High School for Meadowcreek in Georgia, finishing his high school career as a 3-star prospect.
With the almost guaranteed loss of Terquavion Smith, NC State will be in need for a dynamic scorer, and Dunn has proven that he can do just that at the collegiate level.
Currently, Dunn is the 16th ranked player in the Transfer Portal according to ON3.
Dunn is a Redshirt Sophomore this season, with 2 years of eligibility remaining.
I heard from a source that it was close to 50/50 whether Clark would return to NC State next year for his final year of eligibility.
Clark started in 17 of the 23 games that he played in for the Wolfpack this season, averaging 9.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Clark led the Wolfpack on rebounding in 22-23.
When it’s all said and done, I wouldn’t be shocked to see NC State pull in 6 players from the Transfer Portal when all the dust settles.
As stated yesterday, NC State lost Ebe Dowuona and might lose a couple more guys to the portal eventually. They also are very likely to keep their core guys aside from Terquavion Smith who is almost surely headed to the NBA.
The Pack has a few glaring needs for next season. They need a starting PG, they need a starting SG and they need a 4/5 guy that can be the bruiser option at the 4 against bigger, stronger teams, and also a guy who can slot in as a backup behind Burns if Mahorcic’s knee doesn’t get back to full strength. Those are the direct needs at this moment, however, based on what guys on the current roster do, there might end up being other needs. That said, we’d going to focus on the needs of today.
There is always the case that transfers can via the portal with no prior connection to the team. That means they aren’t local kids and they don’t have a prior relationship with the coaching staff. While that is possible, it’s not usually how this plays out. What usually happens is a kid wants to come closer to home, or they have some prior relationship with the staff (sometimes both).
So right now we’re going to limit our focus to a few guys that are in the portal and either local or have a prior relationship with the staff. We’re also going to limit the discussion in this piece to just Point Guards.
What is a ‘Keatts’ Point Guard?
NC State runs their offense off of an initial high pick and roll, like many college teams today. That means they need a playmaking PG. Now, a playmaking PG doesn’t mean a guy who just puts up a ton of points (although that is what Joiner was for the Pack last season), but it could also mean a guy who can score but also get his team involved.
Remember, the high pick and roll is not designed to get a PG open shots. Sure, that is one option, but if you have a good PG coming off that high screen, they have 3 real options. Shoot it, pass to the roll guy/pop guy, or draw help and kick out to the corners. If you have a guy who can do all of these things well, then the high pick and roll is nearly unguardable. However, if you have a guy who only does one of those things, the high pick-and-roll looks pretty stagnant and one-dimensional.
Right now, Keatts is constantly criticized for his offensive system, and based on his personnel and how the offense ran last season, I get it. But with a pass-first PG (who can also score), this offense could be really efficient. I think for the sake of the team and the sake of his job, Keatts would be smart to prioritize a PG who is a little more pass-oriented and creates a little more havoc off that screen (meaning he keeps his dribble alive on the drive and probes, not to score necessarily, but to bait the defense to get out of position.) So, what would you say Keatts’ ideal PG looks like?
Well, we don’t really know. His first two recruited were Lavar Batts and Braxton Beverly, both taken in his first year and both kind of out of desperation. Then he landed Jalen Lecque, who was a 6’4 elite athlete PG, who opted to skip college and go to the NBA. Then he brought on Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore. Moore was a late addition, who I believe was taken to entice teammate Josh Hall to come to NC State (Hall also skipped college to go to the NBA after committing to State). Hayes, however, was a Keatts guy and Hayes was a 6’2, 185lb combo guard who was known as a shooter and good defender (he ended up being not much of either at NC State unfortunately). Then he brought on Breon Pass, a 6-foot guard who has given State some good minutes the past couple of years, but doesn’t look quite ready to take over as a starter. Pass was known as a good scorer at a smaller NC school, and a very good defender. So far his defense has panned out but not as much scoring as we expected. Next there was LJ Thomas last year. He’s a bigger 6’2 190lb PG. Not quite as quick but more physical. Not as much of a playmaker, but more of a scorer. Then Keatts brought in Joiner this year, a 6’1 scoring threat who never averaged more than 2.3 assists per game before coming to Raleigh.
So, to us, this is Keatts biggest flaw during his NC State tenure. He has an offense built around having an elite PG, and he really hasn’t decided what an elite PG in his system looks like. The best he’s brought in was Joiner, but the offense ended up being a lot of isolation and one on one play. To really reach the next level, Keatts needs to find a PG who is a playmaker and passer, one who can defend and then pair him with an elite scoring guard.
Who is out there right now that we should keep an eye on?
Jalen Cone Northern Arizona | 5’11, 175lbs | 18ppg, 2.5 assists, 40% from 3pt range | From Walkerton, NC
Cone started his career off at Virginia Tech. He was a 3 star kid who was super quick, and more of a scorer than a playmaker. He had offers from VT, Tennessee and Baylor, but that was really it. NC State was involved a little bit here but never given an offer.
He had decent stats at VT, but really came into his own when he transferred to Northern Arizona. Obviously, this is weaker conference, but he had 20pts, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists against Michigan State, 17 points and 6 boards against Arizona State. He did get shut down against Texas, scoring just 6 points and turning the ball over 5 times, but this is a guy who had games of 45pts, 38 pts, and 29pts. He’s super quick and really a good shooter. He’s a less physical version of Jarkell Joiner if you ask me. So maybe Keatts sees this as a decent fit, but in my opinion, you need to target a guy who is more interested in getting his teammates involved (but I guess that depends on your ability to lock down an elite scoring 2 guard). I’m also concerned about his 1:1 assist-to-turnover ratio. You want your lead guard to be better than that.
Bobby Pettiford Kansas | 6’1, 190lbs | 2 ppg, 1.3 assists, 30% from 3pt range | From Durham, NC Pettiford is a stout, physical guard who can defend, but really hasn’t shown much on the offensive end. That said, he’s had a case of the injury bug during his two years at Kansas. He started with an ankle injury and then had an abdominal injury, both really slowed him down. When he committed to Kansas (after decommitting from Louisville) Bill Self really thought Pettiford was going to be a major contibutor to his team saying “We were very fortunate when Bobby opened up his recruitment last month. He became a priority immediately. We feel Bobby has a tremendous future, great upside and will make an immediate impact for us. His work ethic and drive are something I think every program hopes every player has.”
Pettiford is interesting to me. He’s a very physical guard, a good defender, and a good finisher around the rim, but he’s not super athletic, nor is he a great long-range shooter. He also isn’t someone who is explosive in transition. Those seem to be all things Keatts is looking for in a PG, so you’d think Pettiford isn’t going to be a major target for State, but you never know. He has a lot of talent, but I’m not sure he fits great with the pieces NC State currently has in place. However, in HS he was a really good shooter and showed a real scoring ability, so who knows.
Javon Small ECU | 6’2, 180lbs | 15.8 ppg, 5.6 assists, 33% from 3pt range | From South Bend, IN
Small isn’t a North Carolina prep kid, but his connection to the state is that he’s transferring from ECU. This is a kid who was a 3-star recruit and only had mid-major offers, but has erupted for the Pirates this season. He’s a big, strong PG who shot nearly 40% from the floor and 33.3% from long range. This year Jarkel Joiner shot 42.8% from the field and 35.4% from long range. So he’s not quite the shooter that Joiner was, but he’s not that far off. He also is more of a playmaker than Joiner. He averaged 5.6 assists per game and 3.4 turnovers per game. He was ranked 18th nationally in assist rate when he went down with a knee injury in mid-January. This is a guy that I think Keatts should try to bring in, and it looks like he’s already reached out.
ECU transfer Javon Small has heard from the following schools since entering the transfer portal, he tells @On3sports:
LSU
Mississippi State
Penn State
Clemson
Oklahoma
Arkansas
Maryland
NC State https://t.co/oY8D4CDfHM
Dayvion McKnight WKU | 6’1, 195lbs | 16.5 ppg, 5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 34% from 3pt range | From Shelbyville, KY McKnight is being listed here because NC State has reached out to him. I’m not aware of any connection with the staff, but he definitely fits the Keatts mold. He’s a little bit of a bigger, stronger guard, and honestly is like an undersized James Harden with the way he creates space and attacks the basket (He’s also a lefty). McKnight is going to be a really unique player no matter where he ends up. He’s got a knack for creating space, great footwork, a nice jumper and he really loves drawing contact on his drives to the hoop. I can definitely see why NC State reached out, and if he really does pattern his game after James Harden, then the NC State high screen and roll offense is the perfect system for him. Don’t look at his frame and think he’s slow, either. The kid has speed and while he’s not going to play above the rim, he’ll be a scoring threat no matter where he lands.
Western Kentucky transfer Dayvion McKnight has heard from the following schools since entering the portal, source tells @On3sports:
Kansas
Memphis
Iowa State
Purdue
NC State
Xavier
LSU
Oklahoma
Dusquene
Mississippi State https://t.co/rPam5GZvdb
From Wolfpack stats…. Bart Torvik currently gives State a 45% chance to make the tournament. A loss (to Duke) projects to drop them to 9%
I fell off the Keatts bandwagon on New Year’s Eve when I read the result of the Clemson game. He had a week to prepare for that game and his players were not ready to play. As Papajohn said, Keatts does not sound like a dead man walking, but he is. He has to be. I cannot imagine us going .500 in the remaining games, much less getting to .500 in ACC play. Maybe he is just counting the payout $$$$ that will bankrupt State and set the program back another 5 years. Not sure I’ll live even long enough… Read more »
Ok. Maybe I am just a fair weather fan. I have had all the frustration I can stand for twenty years. Then
THE PACK BEATS DOOK BY 24!
What a roller coaster ride.
Maybe he just doesn’t share this stuff in public, but I can’t believe he doesn’t realize that every game is a must win at this point. He should be in crisis mode 100% of the time. Every loss becomes an indictment of his coaching. It’s going to take an unbelievable turnaround at this point to save his job. We’ve got 16 regular season games left, we probably need to win at least 10 – including 3 or 4 Q1 wins – to even be considered for postseason. WF was left out with 13 ACC wins last season. I don’t think… Read more »