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Kevin Keatts Postgame Press Conference After Wisconsin Victory: BULLETED

Published

4 years ago

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Head Coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s 69-54 victory over Wisconsin last night. You can watch it here, or check out the bulleted breakdown below.

  • Did a lot of really good things tonight.
  • Really impressed by our defense.
  • Carried over from the 2nd half in the Memphis game, especially when you look at the last 6 or 7 minutes of the half.
  • When you’re playing against a Wisconsin team that makes it tough for you to score, if you can find a way to score, certainly you can win the game.
    • Talked leading up to this game, to not get discouraged if you’re not scoring the basketball.
  • Proud of Jericole Hellems.
    • He’s been the guy the last 3 games or so who’s played with a lot of energy and done a lot of good things for us, and he’s being rewarded for it.
  • Happy with where we’re at. We’ve got to continue to get better, but I thought we learned from the Memphis loss.

Rebounding from Memphis…

  • We felt like if we had played better in the 1st half against Memphis, we would have put ourselves in a better situation to win the game.
  • I’m always talking about when you lose a game, you’re a little sick. I thought we got well tonight.

Best game of the season…

  • You could say that.
  • Competed for 40 minutes.

Markell’s half court shot at halftime…(humor)

  • I did a great job at halftime.
  • I drew up an unbelievable play for Markell Johnson to hit that 3 to go into halftime. I thought that was the best one that I drew up probably in a few years.
  • He did a tremendous job making that shot.

Finishing…

  • Our key was to play smart.
  • Haven’t finished a couple games.
  • 2 losses, don’t think we played down the stretch.
  • So that may be me, making sure I’ve got the right people in at the end of the game.
  • Played with the lead.
  • Taught that this is a long season.
    • You’re going to have highs and lows.
    • You’re going to have some games where you’re up 10 to 15 and you’re going to have some games that are going to wear you down.
  • Take good shots.
  • Run your offense and rely on your defense.

Jericole Hellems…

  • He plays with passion and energy.
  • In college basketball, there are always 1 or 2 guys on the team that might not be as skilled as the other guys on the team, but he just plays hard.
  • He bought in on the defensive end and he’s making shots.
  • I actually wanted him to take a few more shots.
    • He passed up on a couple of threes he could have taken.
  • He works on his game.

Crowd…

  • Very happy with our crowd.
    • I was concerned coming in with a 9:15 p.m. tip.
  • Students were tremendous.
  • When this place is rocking and we have a lot of people in here, it is a tough place to play.
  • As we get better, I want to eventually get to the point where we sell out no matter who we play or what time we play.
  • I am proud and happy that everyone turned out tonight for us.

C.J. Bryce not starting…

  • He missed film last night.
    • His reasoning for missing film was very valid, but it doesn’t matter to me because he missed film.
  • We have standards with what we want to do, so we gave someone else the opportunity.
  • That being said, I thought he was mature about it and handled it well.
  • I wanted to see if he would pout about it, but I don’t think he did, and he bounced back and made some big plays for us.

Quality Win…

  • I hope it goes a long way.
  • I hope Wisconsin gets everything together and wins the Big Ten.

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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

Published

19 hours 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

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

Published

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

Published

2 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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