Kevin Keatts: "We're Starting To Put It Together A Little Bit More Defensively"

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for the ACC's weekly zoom call to discuss the Wolfpack's recent play, Marcus Hill, and much more.

NOTE: Click on the video above to watch the interview with Keatts.

After looking at the UNC film, what were your overall thoughts on the ending of the game and moving forward to Virginia Tech?
I thought both teams played really well defensively outside of a couple of breakdowns.  

You think about a Carolina and NC State game you’ll think somewhere in the 70s or touch the 80s, but down the stretch when they scored and Washington got that basket from Cadeau, it was a tough one.  We tried to tie the ball up instead of switching the screen and Ben not getting back in.

I thought we had a good look with JT’s drive and Cadeau did a really good job of blowing the initial play up, but I thought we had a really good look and Washington obviously made the play.

Going forward will it be the motto... feeding the ball into the paint and working inside-outside?
We’ve been very good when our post guys, whether it’s Ben or Brandon, have got touches and been able to play inside-out.

We’ve been really good on the season. We’ve had two games, right before tip, obviously at UVA Ben couldn’t play and then with Brandon (vs. UNC), but our offense tends to flow better when we play inside-out.

That’s not always throwing the ball in, that’s sometimes driving the ball and our drive and kicks. In the Carolina game I don’t think we had enough paint touches. It was a low-assist game for us and we’ve had some pretty high assist games that we’ve won this year.

Has there been a common theme in your losses that you’re looking to improve on Wednesday?
We had four games that were one-possession games and we ended up winning two of those, I’m talking conference.

UVA game was a three-point game, we didn’t think we played well in the second half defensively.

I'm going back to Florida State, our first game that went into overtime. And then the two games this week between a trio of us, Carolina and Notre Dame, all three of those games between each team could have gone a different way. We played better defensively this week.

We just gotta find a way to score a few more points. When you look at both of those games, it was in the low 60s, and if we can get a little bit more ball movement and player movement, I think we'll be fine.

Marcus Hill's been a nice addition to your team. What have you liked about what he's brought to your team this year?
Marcus is starting to get comfortable. A lot of times when a guy transfers from a mid-major program to a power five, it takes a little time. And you always wonder, does his game translate to this level? And you've seen that he can be very successful the way he plays. And he's been a really good paint touch guy. He's gotten to his 15 to 18 foot pull up jump shot. I think at Notre Dame, he stepped up and made a couple of threes. And so he's just starting to feel comfortable in our system right now.

Kevin, do you have any updates on Brandon Huntley-Hatfield after being off for a couple of days?
No, we don't. Right now, we'll see him, I'll see him at practice. And we were off yesterday. So hopefully, we'll see where he's at. But I don't have any updates on him at this moment.

To follow up, you mentioned the three, one-possession games. This team has shown flashes of really great stuff on both ends of the floor. Do you feel like you're close to putting it all together?
I like where we're at.

There's a thin line between being 3-2 and 2-3, and I completely understand that, but we've closed some games off. We've had some great defensive stops at the end. You look at Notre Dame, we scored. And the Notre Dame game was kind of a little bit opposite of the way the Carolina game ended.

But I do like where we are. I think we're starting to put it together a little bit more defensively than we are offensively. But in those four games, and I'm talking about our four ACC games, those were all games that could have gone either way. And right now, we're two and two in those. And hopefully, we can build on the ones that we won, not the two that we lost.

So going back to Saturday's game, Ben Middlebrooks, career high 14 rebounds for him. How critical is it? First of all, he had to have that type of role when he was going against, I mean, when you don't have Brandon Huntley-Hatfield in this game, but how big is that to get that from him, not only in this game, but potentially moving forward?
Well it's big because I think he's just against Notre Dame when I thought he was just getting back to feeling well. I obviously couldn't play in the Virginia game, and then at Wake, I still think he wasn't anywhere near where he needed to be.

But for him to come in and play 30-some minutes and to be able to provide us with what he provided us, not knowing that Brandon wasn't gonna play in the game, it's tremendous. I hope he can continue to grow in those areas and get better.

We needed every rebound that he got, and he's a guy who was part of the big run last year. And so he's a guy who's been through some ups and some downs, but winning at the end, and we're gonna get better as he continues to get better.

And going back to the game as well, Bryce Heard played a little bit in that one. It's been kind of a mixed bag in terms of freshmen that are gonna play in each game. Where is the progress for guys like Bryce Heard, Paul McNeil, Trey Parker right now, and could we see more of them moving forward?
Yeah, I think you will. Those guys are, they're starting to get better in practice, and obviously with our rotation, we're getting down to maybe eight guys. And then it's gonna be one or two of those guys that's gonna play each game. And a lot of that's gonna be determined by how they practice. Some of it could be matchups. I thought Bryce came in, was very solid. Trey's had moments where I thought he's played solid, and so has Paul. And so as those guys continue to grow and get better and understand what we're looking for, I think you'll see more of those guys on the floor in an increased minute role.

Hey, Kevin, you mentioned Marcus's development as the season's going on. Is he a guy who you could see maybe in your system playing more as a playmaker as you go through the year on the ball?
Yeah, James, we're starting to move him around in different spots, and I like the way he's playing.

I said this, as he gets comfortable, you can put him in different spots and understand that part of it, but you'll see him play some point.

Between him, Breon Pass, Trey Parker, and obviously, and Michael, we're gonna shift him around and play some different movement in different spots.