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NC State Basketball

Kevin Keatts Postgame Press Conference After NC State Fell at Wake Forest 71-67

Published

5 years ago

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NC State continued their historic struggles at Joel Coliseum last night, losing to Wake Forest 71-67 on the road. Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with  the media after the game in his postgame press conference. The video is ABOVE (via PackPride’s YouTube Channel) and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • Give Wake Forest a lot of credit. Played a very good game. Played inspired. Played like a team that obviously wanted to win the game.
  • We did a tremendous job, considering the hole we dug ourselves in before the half, and we cut it obviously and tied the game up, but we made some mistakes down the stretch where we didn’t do a good job of finishing.
  • I thought we took some ill advised shots and didn’t put ourselves in the best situation to win. But give those guys (Wake Forest) all the credit, I thought they played inspired basketball on the home floor.
  • We played on the back of our heels in the 1st half. We didn’t make shots. We’re obviously a young team in terms of playing together, and our defense tends to struggle a little bit when the ball is not going in the hole, and we clearly didn’t shoot the ball well before the half.
  • I’m not going to take away from Wake Forest’s performance because we didn’t have Markell Johnson. We put ourselves in the situation to have the opportunity to win the game, and we didn’t execute down the stretch.
  • Some individual guys at times took some shots once we got back in the game that hurt us. When we got back in the game, we shared the basketball. We had some guys make some shots. We fed off each other. Once we tied it up, I thought a couple of guys played hero basketball.
  • Our intent isn’t to get behind, but I know my team is going to fight. At the end of the day we can’t continue to dig holes and get behind. We have to do a better job as a staff getting ready to play when we come out of the locker room.
  • He’s an older guy (Torry Johnson) and we knew he could play. Similar to Eric Lockett, those guys can come in the game because they’ve been through it before and be able to play. He did a good job and made plays down the stretch. If I had to give an MVP, and that’s Danny’s choice, I thought he’d be their MVP.
  • I didn’t feel comfortable. Coaches decision (On not playing Blake Harris much (3 minutes) in the absence of Markell Johnson)
  • We’re used to that. We’ve seen that (1-2-2 Zone). Miami played it, and we played against it the entire game against Pitt. We just didn’t make shots. There’s no reason behind it. We had some open looks, they just didn’t go down for us.

(Video Credit: PackPride’s YouTube Channel)

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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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2 days 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

Published

3 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

Published

3 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

Published

4 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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