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NC State Basketball

Keatts: "This Team Has Grown In A Lot Of Areas"

December 28, 2018
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NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media after the Wolfpack's 97-64 win over Loyola Maryland.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the full interview.


Opening Statement...

“I’m excited about our team. I just told the team that I thought we did a tremendous job in our non-conference play. If you had told me that we would be 12-1, I would’ve taken it. Obviously, we had our chances to be 13-0.

This team has grown in a lot of areas and I’m proud of these guys because we have gotten better. We have been able to develop our dept. Some guys have gotten some playing time lately that I think will really help us when we get into ACC play.

I look at the season in thirds: the first third of the season is the non-conference, getting into the ACC play is the second, and the postseason is the third. I’m happy with where we are. Obviously, we have got to get better because the competition will continue to get better as we move forward. I am proud of the way that these guys have taken care of business, how professional they have been, and how hard they have worked throughout these first non-conference games. I am excited about it and we are ready for the ACC.”

On strengths and weaknesses of team...

“I thought the last three games we have turned the ball over too much, which is very uncharacteristic of us. We need to get back to taking care of the basketball. When you look at it, we are doing a great job of passing the ball and having high assists games.

We had great defense with 13 blocks, which is the second-most blocks ever in PNC Arena. We were sharing the ball with 25 assists tonight. Yet, we are starting to turn the ball over, which I don’t like.

What I like about our team is the versatility we have. We can play a lot of guys at a lot of different positions. I think D.J. Funderburk and Wyatt Walker have become very reliable for us on the rebounding end, which I know was a concern for a lot of folks coming into the season. Those two guys have really gotten better. I love our depth and communication, how we play together, and our team chemistry. It’s a lot better right now than it was at the beginning.”

On Jericole Helms performance...

“I’m excited man, that guy is a bucket.  He scores the ball. If I can get him to ever pass, I would be a heck of a coach. He is playing very good basketball and is a talented freshman. We knew coming in that he would only get better. He is the one guy on my team that I can tell you can score the ball inside and out. He is starting to finish around the basket. When you look at the last three games, he has led us in deflections, which is great.”

On Markell Johnson...

“Markell Johnson was low energy. When you are low energy, you aren’t going to play for me. He didn’t play today because I thought his energy was really low and I have too many guys that work extremely hard.

I love him, he is a heck of a player, and he is going to be very good. I’m not mad at him. But as it has been for me, it’s not the guy that scores the most points, it’s about the guy who plays the hardest. I want more energy from him moving forward, especially on the defensive end.”

On moving into ACC play...

“I am happy about my team. Certainly we have a lot of things to work on moving forward, just like everyone else. I am proud of these guys. When we got back to practice on December 26, it was an awful practice, probably like everyone else around the country because they’d been out three and a half days. I was miserable for 12 to 14 hours before I started calling my colleagues in the business. They said that they had bad practices too, and I was okay with it then.”

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Keatts: "This Team Has Grown In A Lot Of Areas"

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