Kevin Keatts: "We're Just Going To Play Our Basketball"

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media to discuss the Wolfpack's upcoming matchup against North Carolina.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

After watching the film from, I don't even know what day it was, but the Notre Dame game, you know, what do you think the biggest lesson was that you took away from that? 
I thought we defended for longer stretches than we have the entire season. I thought we played, I've talked about this, our team, I thought we were getting like 20 to 25 minutes of really good play. I thought between this and Florida State was the longest we played in stretches on both ends of the floor. The ball didn't stick. I thought defensively we were, we did a really good job of keeping (Markus) Burton on the lane and also (Tae) Davis and certainly that was the reason why we won the game. 

How do you carry that into tomorrow? 
You just got to build on it. We got to get better. With this group is, focusing and concentrating on certain things. We spent two days really locked in, trying to get better defensively and it wasn't that, you know, our team overall defensively wasn't great. We just had too many breakdowns that led to easy baskets and it's a work in progress, but I do like the steps that we took obviously to get better. 

What do you say about this, the way your team is playing offense right now, it's only January, so there's sort of where you are now and where you think you can go? 
Yeah, I think, guys are starting to get comfortable. For example, Marcus, you know, had a really, really good game, but he did it in different ways early in the season. He was more paying touch, getting to the free throw line where he stepped up and made a couple of threes. JT started all percentage wise in the season, not shooting the ball very well from three. And then obviously now he's starting to find his stride. So I think guys are starting to get a little bit more comfortable and understanding how to play together, you know, so different, playing with a new set of guys as opposed to, playing with D.J. and Casey last year. And so we got so many new pieces trying to figure it out. But I do like the way that we're progressing offensively and getting a lot better.

You mentioned, I guess one of the things that Dave gave us, that, this is Dontrez's third system, you know, a lot of transfers just in general, is that an under, kind of underappreciated or under-respected part of having a bunch of transfers come in is just time it takes to get comfortable? 
It does. It takes time. And, listen, we're the perfect example of time. We didn't, we started playing when we loaded the plane to go to D.C. last year. And boy, that was very magical of it. So, you just don't know when you got so many dudes, when will the light come on? I can say a little bit about last year's team. We had lost about seven games by two to five points, so you're right there. You look at this year's team, you take the Virginia game on the road, it's a one possession game. Our Texas game here, really one possession game, they got a run out at the end and make it four points. But it takes time. I mean, I know, it just doesn't happen overnight and, you know, every coach hopes that it starts clicking a little bit earlier. The teams that have the most guys back typically are the ones who play better early. That doesn't always work out that way, but it takes a little time. 

Coach, what is it about this version of the Tar Heels that concerns you going into this game tomorrow? 
Well, we talk about starting to play well. I think they, in my opinion, and obviously Hubert, knows his team better than I do. The SMU game was really good. I mean, I thought they played their best basketball. You know, I think RJ started off a little slow, he's starting to play better now, he's shooting the ball better. They're big guys, they're starting to get a little bit comfortable in understanding their role. The guard play is good and Ian Jackson has been tremendous. I mean, he's been playing really good basketball. And so, I think, you know, coming off the SMU game, I think they're playing really good basketball. 

How do you slow a guy like Ian Jackson down? 
Man, we just got to hope he misses. We got to, he's in a big room right now and he is shooting the ball very well. We've got to do a great job of defending him. I mean, he's scoring in a lot of ways and he's a very talented freshman. Sometimes you look at him and say, man, is he really a freshman? But he's playing really good basketball. He's playing as good of a basketball as any guard in this league during this moment right now. But I think we got to do a good job of trying to keep him in front. He's explosive in transition. He really scores a lot of baskets in transition also. 

On the significance of the ND win and UNC game…
I think every game, every power five game, we didn't think, I'll push back on it a little bit. You say this is a key game, the Florida State game now is a quad two. And so with our league, you're going to get a bunch of quad twos, especially at home because of the numerical part of it, like one through 35. So we won't get a lot of teams that's going to come in here that's going to be top 35 in the net. So you have to try to win as many quad two games or quad one that you get.

And you know, Florida State by them playing better certainly helped us out a little bit. But all of them are big now, it doesn't matter because, you know, you just have to play. You got to try to take your home court advantage.

Since you referenced that, I mean, the league had such a, you ever asked about this a bit on the conference call about the ACC having a bumpy start as far as non-conference. Is that going to make it difficult for teams to sort of play their way into the NCAA field in the sense that you just rattled off like a bunch of quad twos when it seems like in the past, you always counted on a high number of quad ones? 
Yeah, I think the numbers haven't really worked great for us in several years. And I don't know why it could be 20 games. It could be, an influx of transfers could be now NIL. But you just, you know, at this point, you have to control what you can control. You know, most of the talking heads are going to have us with four, maybe an outside chance for five. And I just don't think you can worry about it. I just think you got to lock into your team and try to figure out how to win games. But it's something that as a league, we have to really dive into it in the next couple of years because,, we didn't our league grew, it didn't shrink. And so, it's one thing when you have, you know, 15 teams and you only get four or five and now you're at 18 and you would think the metrics will work better when we get more and seems like we might be getting less, and that's a tough thing about it.

There was such a point made like with Jim Phillips and talking about everything from the offseason discussions about how do we improve this? How does everybody schedule better? Right. All these little discussions. Yet at the end, though, it's sometimes just as simple as on court results. It's just it's just one, one bumpy year or is this continuation of the previous things we've been talking about? 
I think it's I think this one is a bumpy year because most of our challenges and see what we want is a one game decision between then we didn't have a great challenge against the SEC and that really hurt us. Let's just say it was equal. It's a different metrics for everyone, but we just did not have a great SEC, ACC challenge. And, in the past, it's been more Big Ten, ACC is even split. We won a bunch of them. But when you don't win those games that are already scheduled and then you go outside and play some more non conference games and we have some ups and downs, it really hurts. 

Coach, your team showed a ton of resilience against Notre Dame and a lot throughout this season. What does that just say about the character of your roster, especially heading into this game against UNC? 
Yeah, I just think we're growing, you know, we hadn't been able to put together. We had spurts where I felt like that we really were detrimental to ourselves. We didn't do a good job. And you look at there's two games that you can go back to, is the Florida State game and you go back to obviously Notre Dame and we finished those games. And I can point to two where we did in Texas and Virginia. The other games, they were where they were. But we I think we grew up, we try to do more things in practice, more five on five situations where, you know, we put them in different spots where we're up three down six. And you look back at the Notre Dame game, it was just complete composure for our guys. At 3:56 left in the game, we were down seven and we found a way to win. We were down 10, the largest deficit that we had. And we found a way to win. And just because we just stayed the course and nobody, when you got a new group and you get into circumstances where you need a basket, everybody's trying to figure out who's going to take that shot. And sometimes it takes you out of the game and the Notre Dame game, everybody played together and the ball found the right guy and it went in.

Breon (Pass) played the last four minutes of that game. What do you see from him and have you kind of see him grow into this bigger role that he has? 
Yeah, I played Michael so much in the first half. I thought he was a little bit tired at the end. And, it was more of a gut thing when we got down to the end. That group that was in there had started to play really good basketball and I decided to close with them. I didn't want to disrupt the chemistry that they were having late in the game. But, he's starting to feel a little bit more comfortable. I told the team in the film yesterday that play when the shot clock's running down, he could have panicked and taken a bad shot. He kind of, kept his composure and found Ben and then obviously Ben got fouled. So he's growing also. All of these guys are in such a new role, with JT and Ben, they're in a new role. And then, you know, you obviously talk about Dennis Parker and you talk about Breon, all of those guys, even though they return, we don't get a lot of credit for them playing on the court together because they really did.

Brandon (Hunley-Hatfield) leads the team, I think, in rebounds, but there are times where it feels like you're not, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it feels like sometimes he's not, maybe he's consistently tough as he was expected when he came in. Have you talked to him about what kind of your, you know, what you want to see from him going forward? 
Yeah, it's hard for me to, you know, get after a guy that's leading us in rebounding. We got somebody to do that. I just think he's the same way. He's got to feel comfortable putting him in positions and everything else. And I think he'll continue to grow also just to get better. He's a guy that can really help us. He just got to get into a groove where you look at the difference between him and Ben right now. Ben has played in this program, knows where to be, knows how to play and his energy is so high. Brandon's really trying to learn how to maintain, you know, sometimes as post guys in a day's game, you gotta play hard and affect the game because you might not get as many touches. And that's what Ben does. Ben, I don't have to run one play for Ben and he can get 12 points. And Brandon is very talented, but he's back to the basket at times. So we do try to get him to basketball so he can score the ball. But I don't think it has anything to do with toughness. I just think he's still trying to figure it out.

You used to joke about how Jericho was going to be a unicorn and now Breon is going to be a four-year guy. When you look back, you know, it was a COVID period, you didn't have a spring and summer to evaluate him. He was playing football. What made you want to pull the trigger on him and how remarkable is it that four years later that you're still working together? 
Well, one thing about him is he's won state championships. He's probably the best kid you're ever going to meet. He's a tremendous ambassador for NC State and NC State basketball. And he was a really good basketball player and it took him a little time to really get on the court and play the way he deserved. He's played behind some really good guards that have come to NC State. And after every year, he and I have a conversation like every player and, hey, is this the right place for you? Is there an opportunity to play? We did the same thing this year and his role has increased and I'm happy for him because he could have bolted when most would. Everybody else is like, hey, if I ain't playing 20 minutes or 15, at least I'm getting out of here. And you can't say that about Breon Pass. He loves the area. His mom and sister are really, not that far and he loves NC State. So he decided to, hey, it's all about me. Let me get a great education and I'm going to play some good basketball and I'll wait my turn. And he did. And you don't, obviously, this, JC, you guys know this in here, you do not see that anymore. There's no more wait and turns, it's wait for a semester.

How do you balance that right now with guys that aren't playing as much that obviously probably want to? Like, how do you keep from that? 
Yeah, I just, I just think you have to pour into every guy that's in your program. And at the end of the year, you have the conversations and if it makes sense for both sides of it, it makes sense. If it makes sense for a young man to transfer, it makes sense. At the end of the year, we try to figure out what they're thinking and what we're thinking. And if we're both on the same page, then you'll see them here. If we're not, then, you know, one of us doesn’t agree and they'll be gone, which is part of who it is. But if they're in my program or if they leave, I still love them and care about them because we recruited them here. But it sometimes just doesn't work out. And I think if you're, if you're a coach and you get caught up in it and you're angry about a kid leaving, then something's wrong because that's just the way it is today. Like, you have to get on the same page and if you two guys can't sit across from the table and get on the same page and measure expectations and this is what's expected, this is what I need from you. Or if the guy, if the player's asking, hey, I have like 25, 30 minutes and you don't have that for him, you got to be honest with him. I don't have that. You might want to look for that somewhere else. 

Do you tell the new guys that tomorrow's game is going to be just a different atmosphere or whatever because you got some game you've got. Do you tell them that, hey, whatever you faced here, it's going to be different tomorrow? 
I think they hear that. I mean, we, I like it sometimes as adults, we all run around this area and we think that our players don't know, but we're the only ones that know. I mean, these guys run around the same area with Duke guys and Carolina guys and all so, Wake’s a little bit further down the road. But they understand that, you know, we'll talk about it, but they understand that and, quite frankly, we talk about, you know, we've had, I know sometimes it's not full all the time, but compared to the ACC school, we've had great attendance and been one of the top teams in the country in attendance for a long, long time. So one of the things we talked about when you come here is that you're going to have these opportunities to play these local great games that are really good. 

You mentioned the crowd after the Notre Dame game. What do you expect from that aspect of the game like tomorrow? 
Whoever can make it. I'm just grateful that I don't pretend to know everybody's situation. I have no idea. Some folks may be out of town. I know that the weather may impact it. I just ask whoever's there. I'm grateful that they're there. I don't, I never look at how many people show up at the game. I look at how loud the people are at the game. And that's important to me. I don't, I never try to figure out, like, why somebody's at the game. That's not, I'm the coach. We got a marketing department that does that. And my job is to put our team on the field and not the field, but the team, our team on the court. And obviously, we live with the results. But at the end of the game, those fans that were at our game, you could hear them get loud the last four minutes. They really impacted our game. 

Seth Trimble's been dealing with that upper body injury. He came off the bench against SMU. You mentioned Ian, the successes he has had from a preparation perspective. It feels like the lineups they're putting out there could be very volatile compared to, like, what he may be able to do at this point in time in conference play. How do you prepare for just all the different factors?
I think you have to prepare as Seth's going to be 100 percent. He's got to gain money. I mean, think about this now. Two weeks ago, nobody knew (Markus) Burton was going to play. And Burton plays against Carolina. I mean, he was great. And then, obviously, he was really good against us, too. But it changes you. But you have to prepare as the best players are going to play. Like, if you do anything different, that's on you as a coach. But, Seth's a good player. And, you know, he looked, just seeing him on tape, looks like he's ready to play. And I would expect him to be ready to play.

Do you have any favorite snow day activities with the weather that could be a possibility tomorrow? 
No, coaches don't have snow day activities. You know what my snow day activity is going to be? If it snows, I'm going to be in here looking at film, getting ready for the game. The game's going to go on. And so, my snow day activity is getting ready. And what time I'm going to show up at Lenovo and be ready to go. But I have no, no, I don't know. Hey, during this year, coaches don't have many other activities. But opening the laptop, going to practice, coming in here, meeting with you, which I'm grateful to be with you. But we don't have, we hate, hate. Like, I don't get a chance to get out. And I'm older too, I ain't getting out in the snow. My kids are, my kids and they're, you know, older. We ain't getting out building snowmen and all that stuff. And by the way, it doesn't snow enough around here to have that anyway, just so you know. 

So your car has a four-wheel drive? 
It does. And I'm fortunate that I do have a garage that I park it in there. And then when I come out here. But listen, we're talking about this. Is there going to be enough snow around here to make a difference? I don't know. And listen, I mean that in a sincere way. I'm glad that we don't have a lot of snow around here. We've kind of, we're not Florida at all as far as snow. But we don't get a lot of snow in Raleigh. We just don't. Like, I don't know, when's the last time we had a lot of snow? Has it been two years, three years, four years? 

Two years, like the most measurable. By measurable, I mean like two inches. 
Yeah, two inches. Like, I remember growing up in Virginia back in the day. And Virginia's not that far from North Carolina. We had real snow. But somehow, we don't get a lot of snow. I know you guys came here to hear me talk about snow. 

Do you think this is a matchup that could favor a small ball lineup or a lineup with Ben and Brandon? 
I think both. They've been playing more Drake Powell. And sometimes they come on the bench with Withers. And Withers and Drake Powell, both are more perimeter guys. So, I think it's both. I think you can go with both. 

So, you're just going to try and adjust to whatever they do and match that line-up wise? 
No, we're just going to play our basketball. And just try to figure it out. But, you know, it's, you know, it's our, Dontrez Styles is starting to play really well. You know, so I don't know if we'll roll a big lineup out or, or have him in the lineup. But he's playing well. It's weird when people say small ball. You know, at 6'7", when you think of a small guy. I get it. We say small ball. When you talk about small ball. Torin Dorn was pretty doggone good at small ball. But he's 6'4", 6'5". This guy's 6'7", and we're still talking about small ball.

Coach, you mentioned Dontrez Styles. His ability just looks like a Swiss Army knife. What can't he do? What have you been mostly impressed with from his game? 
I just think I love his growth. The one thing I really like about Dontrez is that he is a competitor. What I mean by it is, it means something to him. Losing affects him. He's going to be that one guy. Not the one, because we've got plenty of guys. If he doesn't have a good game, or if he has a good game, he's going to be in the Dail working and working and working. And that's what I respect about him. Because some guys can make excuses about it. I've never heard him make an excuse. He didn't play well in California in our first couple of road games. He didn't play well. And I never once heard him make an excuse. And you can fight with a guy like that that really wants to get better. 

Have you ever teased, or what's your go-to teasing of Dontrez and how he could have been here longer? 
No, I don't say anything like that. Dontrez gets teased a lot by KJ Keatts and Jordan Snell. They're all cool and tight. But they tease him all the time. I have no idea why. But they all love joking with each other. So it's pretty good. But that was so long ago, I don't even remember when that guy went down. But we don't talk about that. 

And maybe, you know you talk about this a little bit after Notre Dame, but it’s a weird question to be asked about a Georgetown transfer, but for Dontrez. 
Well, if it's a weird question, why are you asking it? 

For Dontrez, he's mature. I'm sure he'll handle the game the way you expect him to handle it. But what are the emotions like when you play against guys you know like that? 
He transferred from Georgetown. I keep telling y'all, we're playing a good Carolina team. We're not playing Georgetown tomorrow. I don't know. If you transferred from any team and you were going to play that team, wouldn't you want to play well? It's just natural. I don't have to have a conversation with him. If you go to a new station, you want to do well. It's what it is. He wants to do well. Why wouldn't you? You want to do really well? I'm sure that if I say to you, of course he is. Why wouldn't he? He's human. But he'll be fine.