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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts’ Press Conference After NC State Beat St. Peter’s 85-57

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5 years ago

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NC State mowed over Saint Peter’s last night 85-57 (ACCDN Highlights and Condensed Game), improving to 5-0 on the year. Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts spoke to the media in his postgame press conference, and the video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • We came out in the first half and played extremely well. There was a 12 or 13 minute stretch where I thought we did a great job defending those guys. I’m proud of my team because in these five games leading into Thanksgiving, they have played extremely hard.
  • We’re not doing everything great. As a coach, I can find things we need to work on. Because we’re a young group as far as maturity and playing together, I’m trying to work these guys up to being able to play 40 minutes a game.
  • I’m happy with the guys. They’ll have tomorrow off and those who are close by will get a chance to spend a little time with their family and we’ll have a Thanksgiving dinner for the team on Thursday. We’ll enjoy it and get ready for Saturday.
  • We started the game with 16 assists on maybe 18 made field goals. That was very, very good. Shared the basketball and got good shots. For the game, we had 20 assists on 27 made field goals.  We’ve talked about passing up good shots for great shots.
  • Defensively, I thought we did well. I would love to know how many deflections we had for the game. Guys are in the passing lane and guys are playing hard. Our style of play is tough because we pick you up 94 feet the entire game and you’ve got to be in incredible shape to do that. It’s a work in progress. I think we can play probably 32 or 33 minutes of it, but we’re going to work our way up to where we can play longer stretches.
  • I’m not ready to call him (Jericole Hellems) the microwave yet, but he can score off the bench. Talented freshman. Works hard. Deserves to play well. What I like about him is his ability to shoot behind the three-point line, his ability to put the ball on the floor, and his ability to rebound the basketball. He gives us a guy off the bench that can really score.
  • The great thing about it is, I think the officials were trying to help both teams out, because all 3 big guys ended up with 2 fouls early. I think that was a great thing, because we were able to put Jericole at the five,  and then just switch all screens. There will be situations where we’ll play that way, believe it or not, throughout the season. He’s a little bit dangerous on the offensive end. We ran a play for him and he nailed a three. I looked like a good coach, because I called it for my center, who is not a center.
  • That’s something we talked about at the end of the game (playing a complete game). There is no team in college basketball right now that has put 40 minutes of basketball together. The times that we have played well, we have played really, really well. I’m proud of these guys and how hard they’ve competed in the times that we’ve played well.
  • It’s important we’re shooting the ball with confidence. To be a good shooting team, you have to be a great passing team. If you look at every team that shoots the ball well, they’re good passers. We’re starting to pass the ball well.

 

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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1 day ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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2 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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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.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

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2 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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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.

Check out the conversation below:

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NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

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3 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

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.

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