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NC State Basketball

What Kevin Keatts had to Say After NC State’s Win over FIU: BULLETED

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1 year ago

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NC State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s win over FIU on Tuesday night. You can watch it here, or check out a BULLETED breakdown below.

  • As far as the game goes I thought we did a tremendous job and played hard.
  • Everything didn’t go well, we didn’t make every shot even though sometimes it felt like we had stretches where we didn’t miss.
  • We talk about sometimes the hardest playing team positions themselves to win.
  • Jarkel Joiner was fabulous.
    • He did a great job of scoring the ball and when we needed him, he got really hot.
  • And I was so proud of Casey Morsell.
    • You know he really shot the ball well…he ran the floor…he did some good stuff…he drove the ball.
    • He had a mixed bag in this game.
  • Ernest Ross played well.
  • LJ Thomas did a great job.
  • Breon [Pass] came on and played well.
  • So it was a good team win. We found a way to win on both ends of the floor tonight.
    • This was very similar, in my opinion, to the way we played the Austin Peay game.
  • When you’re a good player and you don’t have a good shooting night you somehow have to figure out how to effect the game.
    • You know he [Terquavion Smith] still had 6 assists and 6 steals (may be most by a player since Keatts has been here), but it was good just to see some other guys step up when he didn’t have to go for 25 to 30 points a game.
    • I thought that everybody chipped in.
    • I don’t worry about him. He’s going to be fine. But he still did a great job in effecting the game.
    • You know you’re good when you don’t have a big night and people ask if you’re ok.
    • He’s fine. He just didn’t shoot well. I wish he could have 30 every game, but he just didn’t tonight, he had 15 though.
  • He [Casey Morsell] didn’t settle.
    • I thought this game was effective because earlier in the game he drove the ball.
    • When you look back at his first couple of games, they were all 3 pointers. He never really drove the ball.
    • He had a couple backdoor cuts.
  • I think tonight we got 79 shots or 76 shots up.
    • You know when you mix your game up and you can put the ball on the deck a little bit more it helps you.
  • He’s [Jarkel Joiner] huge.
    • It’s great to have a veteran Point Guard and you know he’s a tremendous personality.
    • He’s great in the locker room. He’s a good basketball player and he’s good for our team because you know he’s a team 1st guy.
    • He’s kinda trying to figure out ‘Alright do I get everybody involved, or when is it time to score’ and I think he’s doing a good job with it.”
  • He’s [LJ Thomas] getting better. You know he’s going to be in the mix of coming in and being able to play.
    • I like him and Breon [Pass] both coming in as Guards off the bench and both giving us a lift on both ends of the floor.
    • I’m proud of LJ. He didn’t play last game, but you wouldn’t have known that.
      • He didn’t hang his head. He went back to work the last couple days.
      • He earned the minutes he played.
  • Thought he [Greg Gantt] was fine.
    • He’s rusty, but he’s playing.
    • He’s a tremendous kid, and I think sometimes he gets blamed or it’s a lot of jokes about Greg Gantt.
    • If Greg Gantt could be out there every game, he would be.
    • He’s been beat up, so it hasn’t been fair with some of the things said about him.
    • That being said, I’m excited he came in and did what he did and he’ll get better.
    • He’ll get more healthy. He’s still not 100 percent, but he’s gonna give you what he’s got.
  • I told our radio guys, I thought the score was going to be 120-110 and the way it started off, it was really slow. It was a lot of fouls and I was like, ‘Man, I lied to everybody.’
    • Then we got going. We started making 3’s and kind of blew things open.
    • We like to play things fast, and I thought we did a good job getting out in transition.
    • We forced a lot of turnovers, we got a lot of steals and that’s the way we want play. 

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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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Afterglow
Afterglow
1 year ago

Who’s talking stuff about Gregg Gantt???

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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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3 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

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4 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

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4 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

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5 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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