Kevin Keatts on Syracuse's zone, Jack Clark, Casey Morsell, and much more

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts discussed Jack Clark, Dusan Mahorcic, zone defense, and much more with the media via Zoom during the ACC's weekly teleconference.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

On Jack Clark’s return versus Boston College...

I thought he did a good job in his limited amount of minutes. Obviously his conditioning is no where we want it to be. We literally threw him in a couple of practices last week and I was very cautious, I didn’t let him have many reps.

I didn’t know how the game would go and if we’d put him in or not. He said he came out of the game feeling well. With his type of injury, any wrong move in practice or anything else can set you back a little bit.

It was really good to get him back on the floor. You forget how well he could rebound the basketball in a little amount of time and he made a couple of three’s so it was refreshing to see him back out there.

Did you have a sense going in that Jarkel would have a big night after having a couple of off nights going in?

I thought he played two unique defenses that can make guards struggle at times, but I don’t worry about him or Terquavion because I know both of those guys can figure it out.

It was really good to see him play really good basketball. He was back playing Jarkel Joiner basketball, driving the ball and he’s really at his best when he’s getting after it on the defensive end. That kind of motivates him on the offensive end.

Is there any update on Dusan Mahorcic?

It’s not.  He’s not available. I’ve said before, and I want to be realistic about it. I’m not even sure if he’s going to return this year. With his injury, he’s going back and forth. It’s the same thing he did last year at Utah and sometimes when you injure the same body part a couple of times it takes a little bit longer. 

We’re hopeful, we’re grateful, but I don’t know where that is going to end up at.

Has there been any thought of pursuing a medical waiver?

We haven’t [pursued a medical waiver] just because we want to keep everything positive where there is an opportunity he will play at the end of the year. That is something that obviously could be on the table if he does not, but at this point we have not.

You’ve played well in the past against the 2-3 zone and with Syracuse coming up what are some things you need to do well?

Obviously you have to shoot the ball well. I think you have to move the ball well and do a good job; try and get into some transition so you don’t play against a set defense all night.

They are the gold standard for the 2-3 zone and they do such a good job at it, they adjust to what you’re doing.  You have to give different looks and put people in different places.

One of the ways you can beat it is you have to shoot it and that’s not easy to do.

How shocked was Terquavion when you told him he’d reach the 1,000 point total?

I think he was shocked, but as far as he’s concerned he probably thought he had 3,000 points at that point. It was probably low for him.

He was happy. The great thing about him and why he’s back here is he’s such a great kid and he enjoys the process.

When you think about what he’s done, not even finished his sophomore year and to have 1,000 points and counting. Great kid, he was happy.

How did you challenge your team after the Virginia loss?

I think we made shots. When you look back at the Virginia game, we had some opportunities we left on the rim. We missed some layups and missed some shots. When you play a great team at home you have to have every basket. 

They do such a great job of controlling tempo that you won’t score a lot of points. I thought our guys bounced back, we just had to get focused and locked in.  We were playing a BC team that had just won at Virginia Tech so it didn’t take a lot to get them back focused because they knew how good BC could be.

You guys ended the BC game playing the last four minutes in zone.  You’ve played it sparingly this year. Was that getting out of the game, you wanted a look at it... what’s up with that?

No, we’re going to a 2-3 zone.  Anybody that’s scouting us have to understand we have that zone package and will pull it out at any moment now.

I wanted to ask you because Synergy has you guys allowing just 1-of-14 from the field against you in zone this year.

Well, no disrespect to Synergy because they do a good job, but we haven’t played 14 possessions of zone.

I understand those guys get paid a lot of money to make those, but we haven’t played 14.  As a matter of fact, I’m going to have my video guys pull it and see what 14 possessions they have us in.

A follow up on Dusan, he’s been working out before games, was there a setback?

It’s different. Sometimes it depends on the game and he’ll get a workout in early in the day and not just the game time situation.  We’ve been careful with him and it depends on the workload he’s at and a couple of days leading up to it.

It may be a day off for him... It’s a challenge.  He’s working really hard, as hard as anyone I’ve had to get back from an injury. I certainly hope it happens for him, but it’s going to be a challenge.  I don’t want the expectation to be he’s definitely coming back. I’d say it’s probably 50-50 at this moment.

What does it mean to your program to get to 20 wins at this point after last season?

These guys do all the heavy lifting. As coaches we try to put people in the right spots, but I’m happy for our guys in general, but when you look at the guys on last year’s roster, I’m really excited for them. They didn’t deserve that.  Terquavion Smith coming in as a freshman had won three state championships and we’d been pretty successful with our first losing season as a program under me. 

For Terquavion, Casey Morsell, Ebe Dowuona, Breon Pass, Greg Gantt, and Ernest Ross... I was just happy to see those guys smile with the accomplishments they’ve had.  I think 20 wins and 10 conference wins... obviously we have a lot of work and I don’t think anyone is satisfied with just that, but it was rewarding for those guys.

Thoughts on Casey Morsell’s steadiness...

Casey Morsell has been great.  He’s such an unbelievable kid. They booed him at UVA. I couldn’t believe that, they booed my guy at UVA.

He’s been really, really, really good for us and probably our most steady player. He never gets too high or too low, and he does a tremendous job of playing off those guards, running to the corner and getting three’s.

I haven’t talked as much about his defense because his offense has taken off so much, but he’s been really good defensively too.

He’s a great kid and an unbelievable person to have in our program.