NC State Basketball
Kevin Keatts, Michael O’Connell & Jayden Taylor at the 2024 ACC Tipoff: TRANSCRIPT
Published
1 month agoon
Yesterday, NC State’s Men’s Basketball team was represented by Head Coach Kevin Keatts, Michael O’Connell and Jayden Taylor at the 2024 ACC Tipoff. You can read the transcript of their press conference below.
THE MODERATOR: We will start with questions for Coach.
Q. My question is, after last season’s appearance in the Final Four, has there been any major changes within the team to ensure success of another Final Four appearance and the possibility of a championship?
KEVIN KEATTS: So I pride myself in not changing and being the same coach that I have been meaning before the Final Four run being culture-wise and everything else. The one thing that I will tell you about our guys, and starting with J.T. and also Michael, is we’ve got eight new dudes, but they’ve done a good job of really pushing our culture on the new guys. I think that’s important. We lost some really good pieces, but we’ve got three guys that played a lot of minutes, those two guys and Ben. The one thing I’ve asked them two is teach the other guys how to compete and play hard. It’s my job to teach them the system. That’s winning and losing and running plays and everything else. But the biggest part of it is we play so hard. I think that’s one of the things that we have to show the new guys that’s coming in, how hard we compete every day.
Q. How have you been able to get the eight new guys to buy into your identity and culture at NC State after your Final Four run?
KEVIN KEATTS: Well, I don’t know if anybody can see you, but somebody get a picture of him, man. That’s some big-time hair you have right there. You are going to have to repeat that question because I lost it when I saw your hair. I was, like, man. I’m jealous because mine can no longer get that long, so I don’t know. Say that again. I’m sorry. I apologize.
Q. The eight new guys that you have brought into your program, how have you been able to get them to buy into your culture and identity at NC State?
KEVIN KEATTS: You know, we have talked about competing every day. These guys will tell you everything that we do has a consequence, and we have a lot of games that we play in our practice. That being said, you win, you win. If you lose, then obviously you have to run. One of the things that we want to do is we’ve got to build a winning culture. I think we did a really good job, assistant coaches, going out and getting guys in the transfer portal and then the young guys that we have in our program, but we have a standard of how hard we compete. Might not win every game at the beginning, but the way we play is different. So we talked about you can’t take practices off. We don’t have but 30 practices total in the 42-day window that they give us, and so during that time we don’t have the ability to waste any practices. We want guys to get better from practice to practice.
Q. I wanted to ask you specifically. Jim Phillips earlier today said he felt like part of the issue for the ACC has been the fact that the brands of the ACC and sometimes across college basketball get overlooked or get all of the publicity while when some teams, like yourself, or others are stronger teams in the conference and may be looked at as a weakness of the conference. What are your thoughts on that, and do you feel like that has led to the ACC getting overlooked when it comes to NCAA Tournament time?
KEVIN KEATTS: You know, I think it’s several things. I’m very disappointed at the amount of teams that we have gotten into the tournament. And it doesn’t really make sense because when our teams do get (audio cut out)
The reason we’re going to the Final Four is because we have a great conference and we’re battle-tested. I think there’s a couple of things that we’ve got to do as coaches in our league, is for whatever reason, the committee, the particular committees in the last three years have put a lot of emphasis on November and December. As a conference we have to try to go on and schedule better November and December if that’s going to be a major criteria as far as how many teams we get in there. It’s a little frustrating because you know you’re playing 20 ACC games, and those 20 games are pretty tough. I would invite anybody outside of our conference to come and play in any of our home venues. They’re tough to play in. I hope that we have a great November and December where they can no longer use your non-conference against you, and that’s been one of our biggest issues is our non-conference according to the talking heads hasn’t been great. The last thing I will say about it is that I think we lost some really unique Hall of Famers that have been into our conference over the years. I think everybody has kind of taken it for granted. I think we’re getting a little bit punished because we don’t have the Hall of Fame coaches in our leagues as we did in the past. Hopefully they forget about that. They were great coaches and everything else, but we’ve got a great league, and we should be getting in my opinion nine or ten teams into the conference — into the tournament every single year.
THE MODERATOR: Coach, thank you. Questions for Michael, please.
Q. Michael, Coach talking about obviously some of those guys from last season’s run no longer with the team, so who have you seen on the rise in the pack that you believe will step up this season and create potentially another strong season?
MICHAEL O’CONNELL: I think it’s kind of hard to pinpoint one player at this point. We’ve had a lot of good guys come in. They’re all proving themselves each day. Every guy is getting better. I would say Dontrez Styles has been performing every day I would say at a high level offensively and defensively, rebounding. So just all aspects of the game he is playing really well. Our big man, Brandon, has been playing really well too. Our guards, Marcus, Trey. It’s hard to pinpoint one guy that’s going to be super helpful throughout the season. I think everyone is going to contribute at different levels and help us win some games.
Q. With the likes of DJ Burns and DJ Horn being gone, I know you’ve had to step into that leadership role. Can you talk about stepping into that leader role as well as leading the new young guys that have come into this program?
MICHAEL O’CONNELL: I would say just being a point guard you have to be more vocal and try to be a leader on the floor. Obviously you’re running plays and trying to help guys be in the right spot and talk through things on defense. I think you just kind of have to be a leader in a sense or be at least vocal. I think my voice has grown from when I first got here until this point. I try to just continually be vocal, talk to guys, whether just helping them out, whether understanding things, or just trying to be more comfortable with the team and the program. Especially with the new guys, the biggest thing is I’ve been in their shoes. I know how it is to be a new guy, be a transfer and just helping them understand it’s want going to happen overnight. It’s not going to go well every day. It’s going to be a struggle, and just being there if they need to ask questions or just be a guy to talk to.
Q. Last year over those nine postseason games you stepped up your game offensively. You shot 50% from three. Were there any changes that you made to your shot in particular for that, or is that just about getting more opportunities?
MICHAEL O’CONNELL: Yeah, I wouldn’t say I necessarily changed anything. I think the biggest thing for me was just staying consistent throughout the whole year. A lot of times getting in the gym with Coach Justice and just working out, making sure no matter if I had a good game or bad game, I was always in the gym the next day working out getting shots up. I think just throughout the whole year kind of always getting those shots up, just compounding days, compounding hours helped towards the end of the season. It’s never going to happen over one game or one day of just getting shots up, but I think just continually putting my head down and continually working and just trying to get better every day led to some good things at the end of the season.
Q. The shot that led to that huge post game run — you know I’m talking about the one against UVA — do you still get jitters from that moment? Is it ever when you fall asleep you think about that moment?
MICHAEL O’CONNELL: I don’t know about when I’m falling asleep, but it’s definitely a cool moment when I see the video where people bring it up. It’s something that I kind of get to relive a little bit in my head and talk to people about or just see the video and just kind of think about what was going on in that moment and what it’s led to. I’m definitely grateful for that moment. It’s definitely something I’ll carry with me forever.
THE MODERATOR: From the podium, last question, when you watched that video, do you ever think you’re going to miss the shot?
MICHAEL O’CONNELL: Never (laughing). It’s always going in, and thankfully I’m always right at the end of the video.
THE MODERATOR: Michael, thank you. You can switch places with J.T. Questions for Jaden Taylor.
Q. What is it about Coach Keatts’ leadership style that has really spoken to you personally and brings the best out of you?
JAYDEN TAYLOR: I would just say his confidence that he walks with and the joy that he comes in every day with. It just kind of inspires you to just play hard for somebody that can be so passionate about the game. It’s kind of like we’re playing for him. He believes in us, so it gives you a different type of level of confidence every day.
Q. With NC State being one of the three schools here in North Carolina in the triangle area specifically, can you talk about that rivalry with Duke and Chapel Hill?
JAYDEN TAYLOR: Obviously it’s a competitive sport. We all want to be the best, and I feel like we kind of established ourselves this year as a team not to be looked over just because we’re in a triangle with Duke and North Carolina. We’re NC State. That’s just the attitude that we have. We’re here to play. We’re here to compete.
Q. For you what is the culture and identity of NC State?
JAYDEN TAYLOR: Yeah, I say if you’re coming to NC State, non-negotiable is playing hard and just talking every day and being confident. You can’t come here if you’re not going to play hard. That’s one thing that Coach K harps on every day, is at least come out and compete. I would say that’s really what the culture is, honestly. If you’re not making shots, how can you impact the game in other ways? How do you get the deflections, rebound? I feel like just competing. That’s the culture we’ve built here.
Q. With as great as you performed last year with how highly active the transfer portal is, it would be easy to go that route after everybody leaving. What is it about NC State that made you stay and say, I’m a Wolfpack until the end of time?
JAYDEN TAYLOR: After doing some of the specials that we did with the guys that I came in, it’s like why would you not want to come back and do the same thing over again? We won five games in five days. That’s never been done. I want to come back and try to repeat it and win the big thing this time.
Q. Can you just talk about the importance that coaches pretty much made your team realize that, hey, the Final Four is last year. Let’s build on that and just keep building the momentum.
JAYDEN TAYLOR: What we did last year, that’s last year. Carrying the momentum is going to be huge. It did happen, so it’s not like we can just say it’s last year and just forget about it. Like, it happened, and it was a good thing. We want to carry the momentum. Knowing it’s a new year, we have new players, it’s going to be a different story, new adversity, but it’s like keeping your eyes, like, just ahead, you know. We didn’t have a great, perfect season last year, but at the end it all clicked at the right time, and we kept our head down and just keep working.
THE MODERATOR: Jayden, thank you. NC State, good luck this year.
Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.
NC State Basketball
WATCH: Middlebrooks, Taylor & Huntley-Hatfield After NC State’s Win Over Presbyterian
Published
1 day agoon
November 9, 2024After NC State’s 81-72 win over Presbyterian tonight, we were able to get interviews with Ben Middlebrooks, Jayden Taylor and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.
NC State Basketball
WATCH: Kevin Keatts’ Postgame Press Conference After NC State’s Win Over Presbyterian (with transcript)
Published
1 day agoon
November 9, 2024NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s 81-72 win over Presbyterian tonight. You can watch the video ABOVE, and read the transcript BELOW.
Give Presbyterian a lot of credit, man. They were really scrappy. And we knew they’re coming in.
He’s done a really good job with his team, been there six years. I even went back last year and watched him go to Vanderbilt and win. So they did a good job.
And when you look at it, man, I tell you what, (Kory) Mincy was really good. We threw a little bit of everything at him. He scored in every way, 28 points.
But I thought we did some really good things. This team right now, we’re really passing the ball. You look at our assists, and it’s pretty good.
We had 18 tonight on 31 main field goals. We had 12 steals. And so we’re getting everything that we want out of it.
We’re gonna continue to build. I like where we’re at in game number two. And I just wanna keep building on it.
But I thought we did some good things. You look at JT (Jayden Taylor), it was good for him to score the basketball. He had a career high in steals in five.
Now, we gotta talk about his five turnovers. We’ll have a conversation about that. But I thought they were really good.
I thought both Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) and Ben (Middlebrooks) complimented each other. You look at it, and I didn’t plan this out, but both were around 20 minutes a game. And you look at it, 11 points, and then what did Ben have, 16.
And I thought both of them were really good. One was good in the first half, I thought Ben was good in the second half.
As far as Ben’s play, you talked about the last game after the practice that he had. What do you see from him being able to score the basketball?
He’s an energy guy. And when he doesn’t play with energy, I think he’s just okay sometimes. But when he plays with energy, he’s really good.
Brandon’s probably a little bit more skilled. Even though, just so you know, Ben’s 100% from the three-point line, just so you know that. But I thought he did a great job.
We talked about it all week, denying the reversals from the top of the key. And I thought he did a really good job. But I know what he did for us in the second half.
Does he have the green light in front of him?
Right now, right now. I mean, it’s hard to deny a guy that’s shooting one for one. He’s 100% on the year, so he does have it right now.
How do you feel about the rebounding effort and how they competed off the glass?
We do, we try to finish possessions with physical rebounds and so we can get out and run. Once again, the 27 fast break points is pretty good.
So we’re scoring the way we want to score. We’re getting out and we’re playing fast and we’re doing a good job. But we’ve really concentrated on rebounding the ball and getting the ball out to our ball handlers.
And what else can I say about Michael (O’Connell)? Eight assists and one turnover. I mean, pretty good. I mean, he knows how to deliver the basketball.
What was the game plan on fighting through those screens that Presbyterian kept throwing at you all night long?
Give them credit. He does a great job with those screens. And we decided at times to fight through both of them and then switch to the last one, but they do a really good job.
And they’re good at it. They’re very efficient at what they do. They’ll run the shot clock down and then Mincy gets the ball and Mincy goes one-on-one.
And if he’s playing really well, it’s going to be a tough night for you. I thought we did a good job and I say that, but he still had 28 points.
Ben Middlebrooks’ personality
He’s been around college basketball for so long that he sees the ups and downs.
He understands the aspect of it, never taking it, never getting too high, never getting too low. And he understands that what’s important is our team winning. And that’s what we talked about.
So I think he loves to smile. He loves to give you great energy. And if he’s not looking that way, I think something’s wrong with himself.
Jayden Taylor in the preseason game and the first game for a veteran guy, he just didn’t seem like himself, really. Did you take him aside? He looked more aggressive.
Yeah, I pointed to that bench.
You see that right there? It’s like, hey, no, I’m just kidding. No, he didn’t have a good game. He didn’t have the pop in the preseason.
And then now he’s more aggressive. He’s doing things like him and Michael O’Connell. They are really, really good players that played on an ACC championship team.
And we need those guys to be good, and he was really good tonight. But I just, I let him play. Sometimes we, as coaches, you can say too much.
Just let guys get out of it, get them back in the gym. See the ball going home, and they become really good basketball players.
Has there been a point of emphasis for him to kind of attack the rim more?
Yeah, and he settles sometimes.
So we talked about driving the basketball. One of my keys is paint touches. I wanted to play inside out, whether we threw the ball inside to post guys, or we drove the ball, and we got 48 points in the paint.
What do you think about that, when you were doing different rotations, you had seven seniors.
It always helped when you got seven seniors. I like our bunch.
Then what I want everybody to think about is it’s so early. You’re gonna look around college basketball, and I don’t even know anybody’s scores today. There might be some mind-boggling scores, because it takes everyone so long to get going.
My three freshmen are gonna be good, but they were not ready for a team that ran all of that action today. When you play those older guys, they know. They’ve been around basketball.
They understand how to play. And so, guys, we’re in an era of, I got eight new guys, and most teams are new. So you’re gonna see some crazy scores early, some mid-major teams that’s gonna play well, some high majors that don’t.
But it’s better when you got your older guys out there as you’re going through that stuff.
Are you comfortable with where this team is defensively two games into the season?
Well, I like what we’re forcing. I think we had nine steals the other day and 12 tonight.
I think we’re playing at a high level. My biggest thing is when our guys just play hard, and we’ll figure it out. We’re gonna continue to get better, but I do like some good things that we’re doing.
You guys always kind of come back and strike back a little bit. How do you guys feel like you handled that type of pressure?
I thought both Stewart and Mincy were very good.
I know they guys played really, really well. And Mincy, I loved it. I mean, he was active, he was talking trash.
I just thought this team, because they had some veteran guys that’s been around, they didn’t play in the NCAA, but they played postseason last year. They got five guys that know how to play.
I knew they weren’t going to lay down.
When a player is engaging in trash talk like that, how do you kind of keep your guys calm and poised, not engaging back?
Just play. I mean, it’s gonna happen.
Our guys talk trash too a little bit. I was the biggest trash talker when I played too, but there wasn’t a bunch of cameras around. Matter of fact, I don’t even know if there was one camera around.
So you can get away with it, but I just tell our guys to be careful. God bless you guys.
NC State Basketball
NC State 81 Presbyterian 72: BY THE NUMBERS
Published
1 day agoon
November 8, 2024NC State defeated Presbyterian 81-72 this evening in the Lenovo Center, improving to 2-0. Here’s a look at the game by the numbers.
The Wolfpack shot the ball extremely well tonight, hitting 55.4% from the field, and 36.8% from three. While NC State shot better than Presbyterian, I’m sure Kevin Keatts wasn’t pleased with the way his team played defense. Presbyterian shot 50% from the field and 33% from three.
Shooting the ball better than the other team is obviously the most statistical category that leads to victory.
The 2nd most important statistical factor in winning is winning the turnover battle. NC State turned Presbyterian 15 times, and committed 12 of their own. As a result, the Wolfpack scored 19 points off of turnovers, compared to Presbyterian’s 13.
Coming in 3rd is Offensive Rebounding percentage. 2nd chance points is a key factor in putting a W in the win column. NC State lost this statistical category this evening. Presbyterian had 11 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second chance points. NC State had 10 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second chance points.
The 4th statistical factor that leads to victory is the free throw line. NC State had 19 free throw attempts, compared to Presbyterian’s 16. Presbyterian shot 68% from the charity stripe, while the Wolfpack shot 63%.
NC State was unselfish once again, with 18 assists on 31 field goals.
Senior Guard Jayden Taylor led the Wolfpack in scoring and steals, with 19 points (7-14 FG) and 5 steals.
Senior Guard/Forward Dontrez Styles led NC State in rebounds and blocks, with 7 boards and 2 blocks. He also had 9 points (4-9 FG).
Senior Guard Michael O’Connell led the Wolfpack with 8 assists, and only turned the ball over 1 time. That’s outstanding. He also had 11 points, shooting 4 of 7 from the field, and 2 of 4 from three.
Senior Forward Ben Middlebrooks came off the bench like a firecracker, scoring 16 points (6-7 FG/1-1 3PT) in only 19 minutes of play. What makes those numbers all the more impressive, is the fact that he scored all 16 of his points in the 2nd half.
Senior Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 11 points (5-6 FG) and 6 rebounds.
Senior Guard Marcus Hill had 5 assists and only 1 turnover. To start the season, the Wolfpack is basically starting two Point Guards in O’Connell and Hill. Between the two of them, they had 13 assists and 2 turnovers. That’s impressive.
NC State didn’t cover the spread this evening. They were 21.5-point favorites, and won by 9. The Total went Over. The Total was 152.5, and the two teams combined to score 153 points. That was cutting it close.
The Wolfpack will be back in action next Wednesday night against Coastal Carolina at 7pm on ACC Network Extra.