Kevin Keatts: "Our Guards Were Really Special Tonight"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media to discuss the 94-72 win over Coppin State in Reynolds Coliseum.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Opening statement...
“First of all we’re going to continue to pray for Dusan [Mahorcic]. I do not have an update at this point. He’s with our medical doctors and our trainers and I will know more hopefully in the next 24 hours. We will give you some type of an update when we get one. To the game, I thought our guards were really special tonight. I thought there were three great guards on the floor because [Sam] Sessoms was pretty good also. It was really good to see Jarkel Joiner bounce back after not having a great game against Pitt and I thought Terquavion Smith was a pro’s pro tonight. He did a little bit of everything, he defended, he scored the basketball, he passed the basketball. We didn’t feel like we played well in the Pitt game and we wanted to come in here, have a better showing, and play both ends of the floor. I’ll get a thousand questions about Reynolds Coliseum and we should play every game in here, but don’t send those questions to me, send them to somebody else but it’s a great venue and it was a great night. I’m really appreciative of our fans for showing up. I thought the ‘STATE’ jerseys looked great, I thought they were outstanding. Hopefully we can see them again, maybe they’re not just a one-game deal. It was an electric night, I thought the energy was great. We had a lot of fun and our guys had a lot of fun. During the game I thought we had a good first half, we didn’t close the first half the way I wanted to. We came out and I thought we were playing a lot better in the second half and then unfortunately with Dusan [Mahorcic]’s situation it took the air out of us a bit, but we closed the game.”
On Dusan Mahorcic’s injury...
“I will not comment on it. You can ask me that later, Chip [Alexander], but I don’t want to make assumptions on someone else. I will say that I’m happy the way Ernest Ross played today.”
On Casey Morsell not getting many open looks...
“They did a good job getting back in transition. A lot of Casey [Morsell]’s shots have come when he was running the floor and getting out in transition. I thought they stayed at home. The reason we got so many open looks to our post guys when we rolled was because they stayed with our shooters a lot.”
On Dusan Mahorcic...
”I just wanted to keep him calm. It’s tough and you guys look at them as my players. I look at them as my kids. It is hard to see any of your kids or any of those guys in that situation. I was there just to calm him down and let him know we are with him. I am obviously praying for him.”
On Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith being the best back court in the ACC...
“I’ll take them. I don't want to trade them, so I’ve got to say I’ll take them. I’m keeping them. I’m not throwing them in, so I’m keeping those guys. They are good and tonight they were electric. They were really good. Every run that Coppin made they were there to answer it. Coppin is a team that is really dangerous. People from the other side won't have name recognition, but you look at the Power Five and the bigger schools they have played, that is what has been great. Georgetown was an overtime game, maybe multiple overtime games, and the Maryland game was tough. He has done that against all competition. I am happy for Juan [Dixon]. I remember him back when I was at Hargrave, I sent Lonnie Baxter to Maryland who played with Juan [Dixon] and I have seen him since he was a really young kid, but I am not showing my age.”
On the competition between Joiner and Smith in practice...
“They said I won't let them? I don't know about that now. It is a thin line. Here is what we do in practice with those guys. I need them to play against each other because they challenge each other to become better but I also have to develop some type of chemistry with them. So early on in the season, it was those two guarding each other and they made each other better. In the end, I have now switched it so they have to play together, so they have a better understanding and feel on how to play together.”
On Joiner’s last game...
“I don't know that, but knowing him as a person, he has got a lot of pride. One of the best kids I could have ever recruited, especially the point guard position. He didn’t have to tell me. I don’t know if he went home that night. Obviously, he probably went in and took 2,000 shots that night or more.
On balancing ACC play and academics...
“That is a great question. It is a challenge. The number one thing these kids are here for is their education. Today was the last day of class, meaning we are going into exams, so we have to figure out a good balance of when to practice. RIght now our priorities shifted to make sure the guys finish out the semester strong and take care of their academics. It is a great balancing act.
On the Miami game...
“You gotta let me get past tonight, they’re good, very talented. I haven’t watched Miami at all, but I do know name recognition. I know [Isaiah] Wong seems like he’s been around for seven years. And he’s played great. And so I’ll get a chance to watch them starting late tonight and early tomorrow. They’re talented, Jim Larrañaga has done a great job with his team, it’ll be a tough road game for us as all of them are.
On the teams response to runs/pick and roll...
“I thought our guards did a great job of controlling the game, thats the maturity that I’m looking for. I’ve got a senior that’s been around a long time, and Jarkel, but I’ve also got a guy that is an elite scorer, who a lot of the conversations I’ve had with him are, control the game, finish the game, be efficient down the stretch, and dont settle. I thought he did a great job of not just taking deep 3’s, even though he took the last one. But he drove the basketball and we got to the free throw line and we did some good stuff.
On the meaning of the 1983 team...
“Amazing. It’s not just NC State, you could almost make an argument that it’s America’s team, the ‘83 run was great. It feels like everytime you see something about them, I have to stop what I am doing just to read. It gets your heart beating a little bit. It’s a great team with great folks, it was a great coach. We’re excited, we’re gonna bring them back. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you that, but I think they’re supposed to come back in February to honor those guys and I think that’s the right thing to do. And if we can bring them back every week we should. I think there were a few here tonight, and I’m glad our guys played well enough where our guys respect what those guys did. And a lot of those guys in this building and everything else.
On Terquavion Smith...
“You know he’s played so well and other people will say, you know, well he’s only averaged 16 points per game, you know the NBA scouts, they know he can score the basketball. They wanted to see him pass the basketball. And so I think he's doing a really good job. He’s either first or second in the ACC in assists. I think we’re seeing a young man grow up, and by the way, he’s saying to you guys, “hey I can score if I need to, I just wanna show you I got a little bit more in my bag.” But he's really matured, you know he's a kid. And you know one of the reasons why he's back is because he's a kid and he enjoys his teammates. You know when you saw Dusan go down, you know, I think he was affected more than anybody.”