Keatts: "Buzz Does A Tremendous Job"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts fielded questions from the media on the ACC's weekly teleconference.
Opening Statement...
Excited. Obviously we had one game this week and I thought our guys got a lot better playing against Notre Dame. It was a game that we played earlier in the conference season and did not play well -- actually got embarrassed. We lost by 30 points.
I thought our guys did a good job of staying focused and got a little bit better this week. It was one of those weeks where I thought we needed a little bit more rest. We were playing well after coming off the win at UNC but we were able to take a couple of days off and guys were able to get in the training room.
Obviously, we worked on some things and I thought we responded in that game Saturday.
Do you and James Johnson have a similar coaching style?
We played together and then he was an assistant coach when I played my last year at Ferrum there.
As far as J.J. goes, we both played a very similar style at Ferrum where we were a transition team. Obviously we got up and down to play but we both went into different directions. I was able to be at Hargrave and J.J. worked for several coaches. His last stint at the high-major level before Jim [Larrañaga at Miami] was with Seth [Greenberg at Virginia Tech].
Same principles but he learned from a couple of different guys and I wouldn’t say that we 100 percent do the same thing but we have some of the same philosophies.
How is Lennard Freeman doing this season?
Lennard has been great. We have kind of taken it a little slow with him because of the fact that he has had a couple of injuries and we wanted to make sure he was able to play his senior year.
I also try to limit him in practice and even in game situations, but I am excited for him. He is probably having his best year offensively since he has been in college. He is able to score for inside, rebound for us inside and play great defense.
He is having, by my standards, a really good year for us and I am excited that we have him back. Obviously, I thought they missed him last year when you look out on the floor because, I thought, they missed his toughness and his ability to rebound the basketball.
How is your first year at NC State going?
Well obviously it is a challenge. When you play in the ACC, every night you have got to compete, and you are competing against some great coaches and great programs, different styles.
So when you talk about challenges, it is a challenge because every night you have got to prepare for someone different and the guys can play there. There is good players in this league and, as I have told you before, I think the coaches are tremendous. It is just the best league in college basketball.
I think guys have responded to the new system that we are trying to put in. I feel like at this point we are still getting better as a basketball team even though we are making some mistakes but I do think, for the most part, we are trying to come together as a group. Our guys are starting to play together as a team, not as individuals -- which is good from my standpoint.
What are your concerns regarding Virginia Tech?
They are unconventional. Buzz does a tremendous job as you guys know. They can really shoot the ball from behind the arc. They are tremendous in transition. They give you several looks on the defensive end.
Obviously, they can switch one through five at times, with Clarke at the five. Their ability to make shots; they do a tremendous job of getting paint touches and, obviously, making the right decision.
It is a really good basketball team. He has done a great job putting together a program and a system there. It will be an unbelievable challenge for us.