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NC State Presser after win over #2 Arizona: Bulleted

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6 years ago

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The Kevin Keatts era is off on the right foot after knocking off #2 Arizona 90-84 in the ‘Battle For Atlantis’. After the game, Kevin Keatts, Braxton Beverly, Al Freeman and Malik Abu met with the media. Above is the video (courtesy of GoPack Athletics), watch that if you want the full version. If not, we have the cliff notes below. *all bullets with no name are from Keatts*

  • Team did a great job staying  the course and staying with the scouting report
  • Did a great job getting and staying in presses, moving the ball around.
  • Great games from Abu, Braxton and Freeman
  • Excited for the guys. You want to continue to build the program, but this is a program win.
  • Arizona has tons of weapons. Can’t really key on any single Arizona player. Wanted to stop Trier but he got 27. Goal for his guys was to match intensity, get into transition and forcing tempo. Team 90 points and had 17 assists on 28 made FGs
  • Stuck with Beverly because he has had some good shooting days in practice and thought this would be his night.
  • Going to Italy helped this team get better. They get better every day and give great effort every day. They deserved to win.
  • Beverly: Didn’t feel any different in this game, always prepares the same. Just wanted to come out and help the team win.
  • Freeman: Comes into every game trying to win. Start to finish, play as hard as possible. Coaches and teammates give the team confidence to go out and win.
  • Abu: Didn’t know if he was going to play, but if he could, wanted to give it his all for his teammates. Thinks team still has room to grow.
  • Wanted to change the culture when he got to State. Put in his system. The question as a new coach is ‘do you put in your system, or do you play to the guys that you already have?’ At UNCW it seemed to work right away so that’s what he did here and the team is making him look good 5 games into the season.
  • Excited, but didn’t come here to just win one game. There are 3 games in this tournament and they respect every program. Team celebrated a bit in the locker room, but it’s a quick turnaround and they need to be ready tomorrow.
  • Abu: This win means a lot. Coach came in and believed in them from day 1 they could win. Never allowed any doubt and probably inside, thinks they should have won by more It’s a good feeling to be in this new culture with this new change.
  • Abu: This win just goes in the bag with the rest. There is unfinished business in the Bahamas and the goal is to finish on top.
  • Abu: Doesn’t want to compare last year to this year. This is a hard-working team and that’s what it takes to win. With coach instilling his ideologies of defense and offense and culture and family they can go anywhere.
  • Meant a lot to see his team counter-punch everytime Arizona made a run. Said you never know how good your team is until you face adversity. Team never panicked, answered the bell every time.
  • Braxton played a lot of minutes because Markell wasn’t feeling well (cramps) and he made some big plays. Put the ball in Al’s hands and he made some big plays.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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1 day ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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2 days ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. 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 #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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3 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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4 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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