NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 79-77 road win over Wake Forest Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
Opening Statement
First of all, Steve Forbes has done a great job with this program. When you think about his first year, what he’s been able to do in the transfer portal, and the atmosphere that it is now, they’re good. We beat a very good basketball team. My message throughout the entire game when we weren’t playing well was, “Hang in there. Just give us a chance. Just hang around.” I didn’t think things went our way in the first half. We missed shots. We got into foul trouble. I thought the shot by Jarkel Joiner at the half was really good to give us a boost going into halftime. Even in the second half, I thought Wake Forest came out and punched us in the mouth at the beginning at the half. We just hung around with so many great plays. D.J. Burns was special today. He was great. Everybody’s seen how good he is and how good he can be, but I thought today he was tremendous. He scored 31 points. He made an incredible pass to L.J. Thomas which led to a three. You could say the same thing about Casey Morsell. I didn’t think [Terquavion Smith] had a great game, but sitting over there and coming in, I thought he made a big shot down the stretch to give us the lead. This team is growing. This team’s getting better. I think they like each other. It was a great road win for us.
On when he decided to keep feeding Burns…
We struggled to score, and it started in the first half when Terquavion was in foul trouble, and I just didn’t really have anybody. Jarkel was playing heavy minutes, and I was trying to save him a little bit in the second half, but I couldn’t take him off the court. We decided, “Hey, I want to punch this inside and see what happens.” It started in the first half and kind of led to the second half.
If physicality on defense was a point of emphasis coming into this game…
No, you know what? These guys are really good. I’ve watched them on tape, and besides the Virginia game, nobody has won in here, and we knew they were going to be very aggressive. Steve’s done a great job. They really space you out. [Tyree] Appleby is having a great year. They can make plays. If you rush them on the drive, they do a great job of throwing it up to the rim. It wasn’t so much of what we did or didn’t do. I thought they did a great job attacking us.
On what went through his mind during Burns’ last trip to the free-throw line…
I believe in him. He’s got great touch. He just sat up here and said he doesn’t let the fans bother him. The times before, they were hollering [“Whopper”] at him. I don’t know why. At the end of the day, he did something to the fans. I said, “Stay locked in.” I have real confidence in him. He’s a much better free-throw shooter than being 1-for-5. Now, there’s a little prayer in between there, but I was happy that it went in.
On Burns’ passing ability leading to his scoring output today…
He’s really tough to guard, and here’s why. He catches off the block. He maneuvers. You’ve got to decide which way you want to guard him. If you trap him and we’re making shots, he made two incredible passes that led to three-pointers that probably helped us win the game, but if you play him one-on-one, he’s so tough to guard. Did they come into the game saying, “We don’t want to trap him”? Probably, because of his ability to make plays. You have to decide which way you want to guard him because he’s capable of hurting you both ways. Today, he did both. He scored the ball. He passed the ball. When he has 31 [points] and he’s able to get nine assists, we’re really tough, especially if we’re making shots.
On how important today’s win was…
I think it’s important. I was one of those guys bothered about the job Steve did last year. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think he had 13 wins in this league, and I was hoping that he got in [the NCAA Tournament]. He deserved to get in. As I delve into it now, everything is about Quad I and Quad II [wins]. What I talk about with my team now, as much as I talk about who we’re playing and scouting reports, we also talk about what Quad these teams are because it’s a great opportunity.
On the collective buy-in from the team…
I thought Ebe [Dowuona] came in and played great. We have done that toward the end of the game; we substitute [Burns and Dowuona] sometimes, offense and defense. D.J. needed a break. I thought Dowuona came in, and his blocks were great. We needed them at that time.
On how far this team can go…
We won today. We’re going to continue to work. I’m not being funny; I don’t allow this team to look ahead. We have to stay in the moment. With kids today and with so many transfers, you’ve just got to focus on the next game, and that’s all we’ve been able to do.
