Kevin Keatts Updates The Status of Mike James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media on the ACC’s weekly teleconference to discuss Trey Parker’s development, the upcoming stretch, Mike James and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield’s status, and much more.
NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.
Do you have an update on Mike and where he kind of sits right now, you know, coming into these last few games?
Noah, we're going to, I'm going to try to get with Mike this morning and get with our doctors, not this morning, but sometime, you know, we practice at 2:30. So somewhere in the next 24 hours, I'll have a little bit better, clearer understanding of where we're at with him. I want to meet with him and our trainer and our doctor just to get an understanding of where we are with him.
Y'all are in a precarious position right now, trying to make the ACC tournament, you know, is there panic or is there an additional sense of urgency knowing how few games are left?
Well, I don't think there's panic. I think we have to play the schedule that's left in front of us. And obviously, as you know, with the group, you can, I can only, obviously prepare them for the next game. And that's obviously Louisville on Wednesday. We got, we need to play well down the stretch. And I think our guys understand that without putting extra pressure on them. But you have to start and kind of focus on the next game. And that's the only way we've ever done it. And it's worked out for us in the past.
Hey, Kevin, hope you're doing well. I wanted to ask you about Trey Parker and when you recruited him. Obviously, he's been shooting the ball well here the last couple of games. How did you evaluate his skill set coming out of high school or prep? Did you view him as a playmaker, scorer, defender? What were your thoughts on his game?
Yeah, James, Trey, when we started recruiting him and obviously had been committed to us for a couple of years, we looked at him as a combo guard. But what I liked about him is speed, athletic ability. He's probably one of the few guys that we have on our team that can create his own shot, but get others involved. The great thing about Trey, he can play two and one. He's really been working lately, getting in the gym, working on his outside shot and is obviously paying off. And it's really good to see him starting to play really good basketball. Took him a little time, inconsistent in practice habits and all that other stuff. And it looks like he's, you know, turning the corner. He's had a couple of really good games for us, which we've actually needed. But in the same token, I think he's just gotten better. So I saw a guy who I really thought could be a really good basketball player and play both guard positions and do some things on the floor with his athletic ability and also on the defensive end. And now everybody's starting to see that a little bit.
Hey, Kevin. So I wanted to ask you, as far as the rotations are concerned here lately, you know, there's been obviously a lot of younger players getting the opportunity to play, but there's been kind of some randomization of when guys go in, things along those lines. Just wanted to get your take on what leads up to the thought process on who you're going to put in and how those rotations work on a game-by-game basis.
Yeah, I don't consider it. It's kind of random. I consider it as just, what do we need at the time? Like, who's playing well? We needed Trey because when you have the Florida game, we just couldn't get any shots without someone creating a shot for themselves. Paul obviously has come in because, you know, we need some shooting at times and times we didn't. And, you know, certainly if those guys can play well, we need them. Same thing with Bryce. And so, Cory, it's more of a, not going into the game, saying that certainly if a guy plays well, you know, in the back of your mind that so-and-so has practiced really well. But more importantly, it's more of a game feel. And, we're not married to any particular lineup, even though we start a certain lineup that we've been starting. If you look at it, some other guys have gotten more increased roles and being able to play. Our five position, without having Brandon, has really struggled because Ben's been in a lot of foul trouble. And I thought Ish, who has played more minutes on a California trip than Ben just because of the situation. So it's kind of a situational thing. And I have in the back of my mind who's playing good basketball, who we think can give us some kind of jolt to be, help us in the game.
And feeding off of that, too, you mentioned Brandon. I mean, when you're looking at, like, where does he stand after not making the trip this past week, leading up to, obviously, a game against Louisville, his former team?
Yeah, he had, Brandon, we were, he had two days, two training sessions per day, meaning, getting his shoulder right. And I think he's feeling in a good place. We're going to practice here at 2.30, so I have a better understanding of where he's at. But, it just, we got into games, Corey, for the last couple of weeks, and he just didn't feel great. And we just had to figure out, can we, if we took one week of aggressive treatment and rehab, could that help? And I think he's in a better place right now. But I'll know more once I'm able to get into practice with him. But if he feels better, he'll be ready to go on Wednesday.
How do you guys prepare for a team like Louisville that no matter what's been put in front of them, as far as adversity goes throughout the year with injuries and stuff like that, how do you guys prepare for a team that is resilient as Louisville?
Well, I just think you have to prepare like everyone does. I mean, they're a good basketball team. But what makes them really good, in my opinion, is that they have a lot of trust in one another and they're playing with great confidence. And I think that's where you see no matter who plays, everybody in the game is playing well. They're probably one of the most confident teams that's in our league. And a lot of times winning helps that. And I think by them winning some games early, guys are starting to play well. And it's a really good basketball team. They shoot it, they can defend you, they can get out in transition. They do a great job of moving the basketball and they play really well together. And I think that's what really makes them special.
How do you keep the team together, and on the same page, and not splinter through a stretch like this?
We're fighting. We have to lean back on our culture. If you look back at our games, the unfortunate thing is, we have not been on the winning end of most of these games, but we're always in the game to win it. And that says a lot about our players and the respect that I have for them, because they're still fighting. After taking a trip to Cal, and at the end of the game, Cal was a good game up until the end, and you would say, all right, how do they respond on the road, you know, at Stanford, and a couple days later, and we just came out and fought. So, playing hard is a standard here. You have to play hard. We don't necessarily make every shot. We don't make the right decision, but one of the things that you have to do in this program is play hard, and show a lot of respect to our players, because they're playing hard, even though we are not getting the results that we all want.
You had mentioned Trey, a bunch, on this call. At the beginning of the year, you said you'd be a guy that could help you guys, obviously, now. Where's the biggest part of this game that you've seen grow the most from the time you showed up over the summer until right now?
I think the home run plays. Trey is, obviously, since you can remember him, he's made big plays, and I think he's understanding how to play the game, learning how to make the right play, learning how to make the right decision, learning whether to be on the defensive end, and just really trusting his teammates, and I think that's where he's really grown, and then when we need, when you look at the Stanford game, we needed some baskets from him, and I thought he stepped up and made some big shots for us.
Over the years, you've had flexibility with your lineup where you've played bigs, you've played three-point guards, you've played 6-5, 6-6, stretch fours. In a perfect world, moving forward, what would roster construction look like? What would you prefer to have?
I think versatility. We've been very challenged this year. Obviously, Mike James is not playing thus far. We recruited him kind of as a guy that we thought could replace DJ Horne and Casey Morsell. We've had at least four or five of our games where Ben or Brandon did not play in their games, but I think the biggest thing for us, JC, is a group of guys that are versatile and can play multiple positions, and, because of who we have had on the floor and not had, everybody has to kind of stick to one position and get better at that position, but, you know, I love size. I love some guards that can create, but I think the biggest thing, if you're asking me, is probably versatility.
Kevin, I wanted to ask you about your five position, the production you're getting there. When you look at it, is it on them to be more productive? Do you see opportunities where maybe they're not getting set up enough? I mean, how do you evaluate the production you're getting there?
Well, I think, James, one of the toughest things is that, and I've said this, like, we haven't had Ben and Brandon, one's been out of practice and the other's been out of practice, just consistency, and then you throw Ish in there, who I thought was a really bright spot for us on the California trip. Coming into the season, that was one of our, in my opinion, with so many new pieces, that was one of our strongest, positions, and our guys just got to get back to, getting in practice, having some consistent play, being able to, win that position, but we haven't played great lately at the five position, and that's somewhere we got to, continue to improve, and one of the things is just getting them all in practice and getting on the same page, really.