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Kevin Keatts Tells Joe Giglio that He Has Exercised His 2-Year Contract Extension at NC State

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2 years ago

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NC State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts was on with Joe Giglio of WRAL Sports Fan and 99.9 The Fan yesterday, and they talked about a variety of topics, but what caught my attention the most was the discussion over Keatts’ contract situation.

Giglio: Do you feel like this year you are coaching for your future, for your job? 

“I don’t. I really don’t. I feel like I’m coaching this year the way I’ve coached every year. I’m a very prideful person. When I took over this NC State program, we had taken over a program that had won 4 conference games the year before, and 5 the year before. We didn’t like that. The university didn’t like that. I obviously wanted to come in and be different. Other than last year, we’ve been different. I’m coaching not only for myself, but I’m also coaching for NC State University, and the guys and the families where I sat in front of them and recruited them to get a good education, but also to be able to play at the next level.”

Giglio: Part of your contract allows you to extend your current deal, I believe by two years, based on the loss of the scholarship and based on the limitation of the recruiting visits. Have you and your agent talked with Boo Corrigan at NC State about what you would like to do with your contract? (See Video Above)

Keatts: Yes. Last month we decided to exercise our 2-year NCAA extension. 

You might be wondering, what is this 2-year extension Keatts was able to opt into, and what is its relationship to the NCAA investigation on NC State’s Men’s Basketball that finally concluded in December?

Back in March of this year, Giglio wrote a piece over at WRAL, explaining some details of Keatts contract, that relate to the ruling of the NCAA.

Under the terms of Keatts’ contract, which were amended in July 2021, Keatts has the ability to extend his current deal by two years based on the NCAA ruling.

Keatts’ current contract runs through the 2025-26 season. As of Thursday, Keatts had not picked up the option to add the years to the deal.

In December, the NCAA, through its Independent Accountability Resolution process, gave NC State one-year probation, took away one scholarship for the 2022-23 season and placed recruiting restrictions on Keatts and his staff for the 2021-22 season.

According to the most recent contract, Keatts has the ability to elect to “be extended by NC State in an amount equal to the length of the penalties” imposed by the NCAA “up to a maximum extension of two years.”

The outlined penalties were if the NCAA “reduces the amount of scholarships that may be awarded by the team,” “restricts the team’s ability to recruit student athletes” or “precludes the Men’s Basketball Team from participation in post-season competition.”

Since the scholarship reduction and recruiting restrictions were in two different years, Keatts has the ability to extend the deal by two years. (WRAL)

So, yesterday, Keatts told Giglio that last month he exercised the 2-year extension that was brought about by the probation given to NC State by the NCAA in December.

That means that Keatts contract now runs through 2028, and not 2026.

Currently his salary is $2.7 million annually.

I’m not hoping this happens, but it’s worth noting. At any point, if NC State decides to fire Keatts, they have to buyout the remainder of his contract, to the tune of half of his annual salary, multiplied by the amount of remaining years on his contract.

So for instance (again, I’m not saying I want this to happen), if NC State were to decide to part ways with Keatts at the end of the upcoming season, the buyout due to him would be $6.75 million. Prior to the extension Keatts exercised, that buyout would have been $4.05 million.

There’s no denying that the NCAA Investigation has been a cloud over the Wolfpack Men’s Basketball program ever since Keatts arrived in Raleigh. There is also no denying that though the probation could have been worse, the punishment does infringe upon the coach’s ability to be as successful as possible. That’s why an addendum was added to Keatts contract last July.

Strictly from a financial standpoint, I completely understand why Keatts exercised the option. From a familial standpoint, Keatts’ son K.J. Keatts is a Freshman at NC State, as a walk-on member of the Men’s Basketball team. I also believe that Coach Keatts loves it at NC State, and believes he has a lot of unfinished business to take care of as the Wolfpack Men’s Basketball Coach.

 

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Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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packjet
packjet
1 year ago

First 33 years, 10 ACC titles, 2 national titles. Last 34 years no titles except losers. I talked to Yow years ago. She wanted to have a championship in basketball but they were not willing to go out and get a proven winner. They kept hoping some cheap coach could get the job done but alas they keep hiring people who can’t recruit 4 and 5 star recruits. Now we have a coach that can’t even get us to the NCAA tournament. I’m tired of all the excuses. We aren’t going to have competitive teams in our future. Pick a… Read more »

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Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

I think anyone would have taken the extension. Why not?
However, it won’t keep him employed here if he doesn’t show dramatic improvement this season.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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23 hours ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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2 days ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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3 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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4 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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A post shared by Tipton Edits (@tiptonedits)

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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