Kevin Keatts: "In Order to Be Successful, You Have to Do It Together"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media via Zoom Tuesday morning to discuss the Wolfpack's upcoming matchup versus Texas in the SEC/ACC Men's Challenge, presented by Continental Tire.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
On what the team’s worked on since last week’s games…
First of all, I thought we played two really good teams, when you look back at it. I went back and watched both games. Both teams really shoot the basketball very, very well. The biggest thing that stood out for us is we didn't do a good job of finishing possessions with defensive rebounding which really cost us getting out in transition for the entire weekend. We gave up 28 offensive rebounds; obviously, you don't rebound the basketball, [then] you're not able to get out and transition, so I thought we got hurt in those situations. In a couple possessions, we stood around. Early on, we had a lot of player and ball movement, but I thought a couple times it stuck late in the second half. Those are the things we really have concentrated on [as well as] blocking out and continuing to move the basketball as we can. In the early season, we have really passed the ball very well, and we want to continue to do that.
On what the players learn from back-to-back losses…
It's early, and obviously, when you have so many new pieces, — you think about Purdue; I know they lost [Zach] Edey, but man, they've got the preseason player the year [Braden Smith] back and a lot of good pieces — we're still trying to figure it out. Obviously, the unfortunate thing for us is, last year, we didn't figure it out until it was time to go to the ACC Tournament. One valuable lesson that I think every team with transfers learns is that, in order to be successful, you have to do it together, and the teams that come together a lot faster are the guys who are going to win a lot quicker. I think that was the biggest thing; you can't do it by yourself. In particular with this team, we've talked about this: everybody has to play, and everybody has to fit a role. One of my messages to our guys is, “If you're not scoring the ball, what else are you doing to affect the game? Are you rebounding the ball? Are you playing great defense? Are you being a good teammate? Are you bringing energy to the team?" Those are some areas that we've talked about, that we've learned from our two games on San Diego.
On defending Tre Johnson…
He’s been really good. The biggest thing for him is he has no conscience. He plays much older than a freshman. He's got the ultimate green light. He's a tough matchup because very seldom do you see a guy that has a great mid-range jump shot which he can dribble you into some isos, post you up, and shoot over you, but he also shoots it well beyond the three-point line. He's having a great year. Obviously at BYU and now coming up [with] Texas, we played against two guys who will probably be in the top 15 of the NBA Draft for next year. He’s a tough matchup because he's got great size, and he knows how to get to his spots and make shots.
If there’s a sense of urgency for snapping the losing streak and defending home court…
It's the next game. We've dropped the last two games, and obviously it’s very seldom do you get a chance to have a really good Power Five team come into now Lenovo. We're excited about the opportunity. Is it a sense of urgency? I would say that we have a sense of urgency in pretty much every game that we play with a great opportunity. Texas is really good. Rodney [Terry] has done a good job with the program, and they've got some really good players and unique transfers. It'll be very physical. This is probably going to be the most athletic team that we face so far on our early schedule, and we’ve got to be ready for that opportunity.
On the importance of the challenge to the ACC…
I think it's very important. As you guys know, yesterday the first version of the NET [released]. Obviously, I don't think anybody can put too much into the first version that came out on December 2, but there are opportunities for us and everyone in our league. When you look at the SEC, they had a lot of teams in the top 50 and top 100, and so I do think it gives us a chance, as a league, to showcase and show people early on what we have. Especially our situation, we get an opportunity. I made sure that, with the Purdue [game], obviously either playing either BYU or Ole Miss, then scheduling Texas, and then going to Kansas, I wanted to have four really hard Power Five games to showcase ourselves, to strengthen our schedule, but also prepare us for when we get into the ACC. Surely, we'll get that opportunity tomorrow.
On evaluating the half-court, first-shot defense in San Diego…
I thought it was great. I told our guys. I said, "Hey, man, we did a great job. You think about this: you guys will have a chance to be able to follow Purdue and BYU, and there won't be many games where they are around 71 and 72 points a game." We did a great job, especially with Purdue, holding them to five three pointers, and even BYU — they made their first four and then they made nine for the game — but that's a team that averaged 12. We just gave them second and third opportunities, and that cost us not to score, and so we ended up with 61 points for the two games. Defensively, we did some really good things. They had some moments where they made some shots, but I thought, for the most part, when you take those two high-powered offensive teams, and you hold them to 71 and 72 points, if you score more points, or you block out a few times to get on the transition, then you have the opportunity now to be able to score as many as they did or more.
On starting Trey Parker...
He's going to be good. I wanted a spark. When you look at our bench, the two guys that I would say, and maybe we can throw Breon Pass in there also, is Trey's always come off the bench and given us a great spark, and so has Ben [Middlebrooks] and I wanted a spark, just to light a fire under Trey, and our team needed some energy. We wanted to reward him. He's getting better. The thing that we've got to continue with him is just consistency, punching the clock every day, being the same guy every day, improving every day. He has a chance to be really good. I like our freshmen. Bryce [Heard] has played some good minutes, and Paul [McNeil] is going to catch up sooner or later with all of the rest of the guys, but I think, at some point during the year, all three of those guys are going to play a big part in our success.
On the impact of mid-major players transferring to the Power Five…
Well, the transfer portal has changed the game; you can plug in, and you can recruit to your needs. It still comes down to NIL and the opportunities, but there are so many good players out here that's playing college basketball and so many guys at places who, unfortunately, may not be happy. We may have some guys on our roster that's not happy. You’ve got to figure out what your need is, and I think, at every level — we talk about mid majors, but I think there are even Division II guys now who are really good players — you're going to see playing at the highest level because of the opportunity to transfer right away. It's important that you try to get some guys that fit your system, but that being said, it's going to take a lot longer than people anticipate. Sometimes, you get lucky, and your group will click a lot earlier, but in most cases, it takes a little longer for groups to come together because there's just so many new pieces.
If he recruited Kadin Shedrick when he entered the transfer portal from Virginia…
I was trying to think about that the other day. I can't remember. There’ve been so many transfers. Let me say this about Kadin: Kadin's been a really good player in this league, and he's doing a good job at Texas. I cannot remember if we recruited him or not. I don't know, at that time, if we had D.J. Burns already in the fold, if we had Mo [Diarra], if we had Ben, but that being said, he is a good player, and he is having the opportunity to come home and play.
On the three-point offense against BYU…
We got better looks. All of those three-pointers that we made against BYU [came because] we did a great job of driving the ball and kicking the basketball. Our team is a better three-point-shooting team, obviously, than we showed earlier, but we're much better when we can set our feet. When you get in trouble is on those three-pointers where you're going off the dribble, but I thought we did a good job of driving, kicking, and making the right play. Typically, when you make the right play, the ball usually goes in. I think that's where it came from at BYU.
On the added pressure of Florida State coming to Raleigh after the Texas game…
It's so important regardless. You know me, if you've covered me for so many years. My job is to try to get these guys to lock into Texas and obviously figure out what's next after that. When you're in the non-conference [schedule], every game is more of a fact-finding mission. You can learn a lot. You can learn a lot through a win. You can learn a lot through a loss. In our situation, we're just trying to get better to prepare us for the Florida States, for any team that plays after that in the ACC. We've got to continue to grow because, at the end of the day, you never know how many teams that we're going to get in the [NCAA] Tournament. You have to be prepared and battle-tested, as we were last year, to go into the [ACC] Tournament, in case you need to have the opportunity to win the tournament to be able to go to the NCAA.
On what he’s learned throughout the early season...
The biggest takeaway is that, when we play really good basketball together, we're really good. We’re a really good team when we're connected. I've said this about this team: We don't have the D.J. Horne that may go off for 20, 30 points, but when we play, and everybody contributes in a positive way, whether it's doing your job, whatever your job is that night, I think this team has the chance to be really good. We've got to continue. Defensively, we've been really solid. We've defended the three-point line very well. One thing that we have to get better at is we've got to do a good job of rebounding the basketball. We do have guys that can rebound, but a lot of times we're giving up too many offensive rebounds, and that's an area that we have to improve at.