Kevin Keatts met with the media after his team’s 78-77 win over Clemson. Above is the full press conference and below are is the bulleted summary.
Proud of the guys. Question was, could NC State win another big game, coming off the win over Duke. Thought guys were tremendous. Played with great effort and shared the basketball
Omer Yurtseven was unbelievable. Scored inside and out.
Team had 15 assists on 28 made FGs, Only turned the ball over 4 times. Played very aggressive. Turned them over 17 times and had 40 deflections and they only had 10 assists.
Clemson is a very good team. Won 10 in a row. Guys answered the bell tonight.
After game, didn’t want to focus on last few minutes and take away from great win.
Told team to get used to winning. Saw a group of guys so excited to be there and not used to finishing games. Saw some breakdowns in final minutes. Think the team was a little surprised we were winning, but this is a good basketball team so need guys to learn to finish.
Excited for Markell. Told Keatts he wasn’t involved in altercation. His return gives team depth.
Beverly and Batts have grown up faster than expected. Having to play minutes no one envisioned. With Markell out they got great experience that will help team down the road.
Can’t remember last time he called timeout to ice a free throw shooter. Glad he missed and time out helped, but fans were great. And just glad it didn’t go in.
Markell can play next game, but no decision has been made if he will. Hasn’t practiced with team, so needs to get back in flow. If he’s ready, he will play Sunday.
Gave Yurtseven a pitch in the off-season that he would be able to do things like this if he returned. Had a big shoot 80% and UNCW. They get touches because there is a lot of freedom and lots of pick and rolls.
Clemson did great job in first game of taking away the pick and roll. This time, worked with Yurtseven about picking and popping and creating space. And he just made shots.
Freedom and confidence have helped Omer. He believes in coaching staff and this group of players believes in him and gives him the basketball. He took 18 shots and everyone was happy for him.
Torin Dorn scored 7 pts in final minutes. He is a guy thats been moved around. Played 3 and 4. Been asked to play more with Malik out. Leads in rebounding. Makes shots. Didn’t have a great game, but didn’t pout and made big plays at the end.
Team plays a fun style and . fans seeing that. PNC probably will be packed every game.
NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.
Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.
In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.
Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.
This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.
O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.
He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.
NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).
Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.