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VIDEO: Kevin Keatts’ Press Conference After NC State Falls to Georgia Tech 63-61 (BULLETTED)

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NC State suffered a devastating 63-61 loss to Georgia Tech last night with the regular season winding down. Below are the videos of head coach Kevin Keatts’ postgame press conference, and a BULLETED breakdown is underneath.

  • Give Georgia Tech a lot of credit. I thought they made some plays down the stretch that we didn’t.
  • I really like my team, but we just came up short.
    • I love my guys. I think my guys have worked hard.
    • It is unfortunate that we lost the game, and I say we, I don’t say them.
  • Going into this game, I was a little concerned because I thought we weren’t practicing well.
    • In particular, I thought in practice we didn’t shoot the ball well.
    • We didn’t do a great job in practice guarding stuff. We had to go over it several times.
  • It’s unfortunate because we had an opportunity here and obviously came up short.
  • We need to figure out how to go on the road and play Boston College at their place.
  • We were in man-to-man and onto them with six seconds to go.
    • It’s hard because we didn’t want to foul, and we know he’s a good free throw shooter.
    • We wanted to make him catch it the other way, and he got a running start and was able to push the ball.
    • It’s unfortunate when you give a good guard six seconds. That’s plenty of time to get down the floor.
    • I thought he did a great job of getting the ball up the floor and made a play. Player made a play.
  • I think it is hard to tell (On NCAA Tournament bid).
    • I don’t know who lost today because I try not to follow it that much.
    • I know everybody talks about bubbles and no bubbles, but I think we will be able to get a clear picture after we play Boston College on the road, and then obviously when we play in the ACC Tournament.
    • I don’t think anybody knows because of the new system of the Net Rankings, so it can go totally different then any selection before.
  • We are still a young team.
    • Most teams have more than three guys returning.
    • What happens with us is even though we have played a lot of games, with so many new pieces, this team is still searching for a leader.
    • There is no consistency as who is the best defender or best offensive guy, but sometimes that shows up.
  • Give Markell Johnson credit. At the end of the game, he completely took the game over.
  • I thought it really hurt us when DJ Funderburk fouled out of the game.
  • We can’t have a night where CJ Bryce and Braxton Beverly shoot for a combined 1-16, especially when the team is playing a zone.
    • Usually they shoot the ball a lot better than that and when those two guys aren’t making plays for us, it is going to be a long night for us.
    • CJ Bryce and Braxton Beverly didn’t lose the game.
  • We didn’t make enough shots. I thought we got some looks but we just weren’t sharp enough.
  • As a team, I can think of 10 to 15 plays that lost the game leading up to it.
    • We were lucky to be in the game.
    • I thought Torin (Dorn) hit a great shot that gave us the chance to win the game.
  • I don’t think DJ Funderburk got shots through our offense in the first half.
    • He was just tremendous at offensive rebounding, so most of his shots came off of offensive rebounds. Every shot that he made was an offensive rebound. He got some shots in the first half where he missed a three and a jump shot, but he was so aggressive getting to the offensive glass, which is where his shots came from.
  • I feel really bad for Torin Dorn because you like to win on Senior Night, and what a great ending it would have been if he had hit that three and they didn’t make a shot at the end. I feel bad.
    • We are talking about a great kid that plays extremely hard.
    • In the last four or five years he has played for five different coaches.
    • He accepts his responsibilities and has thrived in my system.
    • I wish there were more kids like him. You never hear anything about him off the court.
    • He has already graduated and is working on his Master’s degree.
    • He allows us to play small because of the way he can rebound the basketball.
  • I thought Georgia Tech’s defense was effective because we settled for some threes instead of driving it.
    • We knew coming in that we would be able to get some shots from the short corner, which we got, but we just didn’t make them.
    • And then I thought some guys that I thought we needed to drive the ball a little bit more were settling for three point shots.

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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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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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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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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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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