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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts Press Conference After NC State Won at Pitt 79-76 (BULLETED)

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5 years ago

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Head Coach Kevin Keatts talked with the media in his postgame press conference after NC State beat Pitt 79-76 on the road today, improving to 17-7 overall, and 5-6 in ACC play. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • First of all, Jeff’s (Capel) doing a great job with the program.
    • They’re a young team and playing here at home. We knew it was going to be a tough game.
    • I watched the film of when they beat both Florida State and Louisville here.
  • Give our guys credit.
    • I thought we played a complete game.
    • We played through some adversity.
    • I thought we made some plays down the stretch.
    • I thought our defense was great the last four minutes of the game.
  • When you look at our big three, when I say Braxton Beverly, Markell Johnson and C.J. Bryce, I think this is the first time that I’ve seen all three of those guys play well on the same night.
  • I’m excited to get the win. As you guys know in the ACC, any road win is golden.
  • I thought we shared the basketball.
    • We had 17 assists on 26 made field goals. We’re a good basketball team when we share the ball.
  • We are competitive in the locker room and once the game is over, I try to get these guys to focus on the next game. I thought they were great today. We were focused. We were sharp. I thought we tried to follow the scout report and that was good.
  • At halftime, we just said stay the course…do the things that we did to get the lead at halftime.
    • But I wanted these guys to come out at halftime with a lot of energy. I thought they did.
    • We made a great run and then obviously Pitt did a great job. We lost Wilson-Frame and he got going and cut the lead. They were on an 18-2 run.
    • Give our guys credit because I don’t think we panicked during that run. We found ways to keep the score and keep playing.
  • When you look at him (Jared Wilson-Frame) in ACC play, I think now in the sixth game in a row, he’s made at least three 3-pointers, maybe even four. We lost him a couple times.
  • I thought CJ Bryce was great.
    • He made big shots.
    • I know we’ll talk a lot about his offense, but I thought he was great on defense. For the most part, he guarded Johnson the entire time full court and did a great job.
    • He played well…got to the free throw line…mixed his game up….had 15 footers…had 3-pointers.
  • This was probably Markell Johnson’s best game back from his injury. When I look at his numbers, that’s Markell. I think he had 10 points, but more importantly he had eight assists and only two turnovers.
  • Their (Pitt) record doesn’t indicate how good they are. They play hard and remind me a lot of my team year 1.
    • Jeff’s trying to find the pieces that play together, but those two young guards are really good.
    • They put a lot of pressure on the defense.
    • They always live in the paint and do a tremendous job.
    • It’s a good Pitt team here at home.

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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

Georgia Center Transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe Visited NC State this Week

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31 mins ago

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May 8, 2024

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Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) was in for a visit to NC State yesterday, according to a source.

Anselm-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.

Back in 2020, Anselm-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.

Anselm-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.

ECU Power Forward Transfer Ezra Ausar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago, and while things were looking good at first, at this point, it seems like things have reached a point of radio silence. From what I’m hearing, NC State would definitely take Ausar, but they aren’t going to wait for him either.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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1 day ago

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May 7, 2024

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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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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5 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

6 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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