NC State’s new commit, RJ Keene, is ‘the best player in college basketball that doesn’t score.’

NC State just landed 6’7 Boise State guard, RJ Keene, out of nowhere.

Keene wasn’t on any big board, and I couldn’t even find him on any of the ‘portal rankings.’ Heck, go to YouTube and see if you can find any film on this kid. Two videos, both of which he posted 6 years ago.

So who the heck is this guy and why did NC State just go out of their way to grab him?

Well. I think we’ve found a clue.

There’s a reason why RJ Keene plays so much: his impact on Boise State’s defense is undeniable.

The Broncos allow 16 fewer points per 100 possessions when Keene is on the court versus on the bench, per On-Off splits at https://t.co/cegyfz96ax: pic.twitter.com/3kpWdEPYzt

— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) March 4, 2025

Miyakawa goes on to say…

“Keene had a 7-game stretch where he played between 11 and 30 minutes in each game and didn’t score a single point. If you filter the list to players under 2 points per game, the best player we’ve seen in a while is West Virginia’s Gabe Osabuohien in 2020-21. Dude was awesome.”

And who is the guy tweeting this? It’s Evan Miyakawa, one of the top 3 most respected analytics gurus on the web.

This is a low-key elite pickup. When you’re building a great basketball team, you need guys like RJ Keene. Guys who are selfless, who know their role, and who are here for the team.

And yeah, his traditional stat line leaves a ton to be desired, but look at this guady advanced metrics line.

Low usage, astronomical offensive rating (would have been 3rd best on last year’s team), great Box +/- (would have been 4th on last year’s team), and elite Defensive Box +/- (would have led last year’s team.)

I would be very surprised if this pickup wasn’t the handiwork of NC State’s wizard of analytics, Patrick Stacy, who has made a living off of finding winning players who fly under the radar.