Kevin Keatts: "We Survive and Advance Tonight"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 73-67 win over Campbell Friday evening.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
On the recruitment of Dennis Parker, II…
I’m super proud that we were able to sign Dennis Parker, II. I’m proud of him. He’s a kid that I’ve recruited since I’ve been here. We absolutely love him. He’s a guy who we think can play multiple position. He’s a two-way player who certainly can guard all positions on the floor. He’s going to be great in our system with the way we play. I love everything about him. He’s a tremendous kid and great student with a great family. We’re really, really happy and excited that he’s part of our family.
Opening Statement…
It’s a good game for us. We hadn’t been in a situation where we were down. In the Bahamas, we played the Puerto Rican national team. We were down 12 at the half, and we found a way to win. When you look around college basketball, there’s so much parity now. When you play against teams like Campbell, the reason why I scheduled them was because they’re a unique offensive team. They make you guard for 30 seconds. I thought they came in with a complete, great game plan. They did a tremendous job. Our guys found a way to make some plays down the stretch. Earlier today, I didn’t even know if Terquavion Smith was going to play. He twisted his ankle in practice, and it was going to be a game-time decision. Give him credit; he was tremendous tonight. When you look at the first half, what he did was outstanding. In the second half, though he didn’t score, I think he did a great job facilitating. Down the stretch, our veteran point guard Jarkel Joiner took over the game and did a great job. It was a gritty win for us, one of those wins you usually see in January or February when you’re in ACC play. We were glad to have him.
On Joiner’s clutch shots at the end of the game…
He was excited about the moment. You could see it on his face and in the huddle. The thing I like about this bunch: I didn’t think we played our best game — we missed 11 free throws — but give those guys credit; they never hung their heads. I always felt like we had a chance to win the game.
On Campbell’s offense potentially limiting the Wolfpack’s chances…
They’re unique. It’s different. We played Richmond last year. Some of our teams in our league run the Princeton offense. Georgia Tech runs it a little bit. Clemson sprinkles some of that stuff in there. We wanted to play [Campbell] because we’re going to see it during our season. It’s a unique offense. It’s a really good offense because it’s a lot of player and ball movement.
On the pressure presented to the centers…
When I was at Wilmington and we played against bigger teams, our centers would have great games. Devontae Cacok would have a great game because those guys are typically 6’6” or 6’7”, and they can drive you. In these early games where there aren’t a lot of big posts, it puts a lot of pressure. We wanted switch one through five with Dusan [Mahorcic], and they did a great job isolating him and driving him to the basket, so we had to make another adjustment. It’s a good game. I’m proud of our guys. Our fight was good. We move on. We survive and advance tonight.