MEDIA DAY: Kevin Keatts Talks About The Upcoming Season

AUDIO: Kevin Keatts Press Conference

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Opening Statement...

This is the first opportunity I have a chance to talk to you guys since we took the Italy trip. I'm excited about our season coming up. I want to take just a few seconds to talk about just our fall sports, and when you look at what Dave Doeren did at Florida State.  Obviously going in there and a team that's one eighty seven percent of the games and him winning the game. You talk about men's soccer, who was able to be Clemson who's number three in the country, and then our volleyball team obviously beating UNC who was picked to win the conference so I need to talk to those guys more. I know I got a season coming up and I'm going to try to talk to them as much as I can to get their advice about how to win those type of games.

Italy was great. When you think about Italy, you remember I talked about before we went there, one of the things that I wanted our guys to do is to be able to bond. Regardless of what the outcome of the games are, to be able to get together as a team.  I thought we did. I thought we saw some neat places.

I did an exercise with the guys and one of the things I did was, I paired everybody up, and I said tonight we're going to come in and you got all day to interview one of your teammates. And I want you to tell us something about your teammate that we didn't already know. And I'm telling you man there were some great stories.

I found out nicknames. I found out about ex-girlfriends. I found guys who can cook, who could dance... Malik actually did a rap song for us so feel free if he comes up here to make him rap for you so he can talk about that.

It was a great experience. When I got back, I had to exercise a little bit extra. We ate a lot of pasta. I had a lot of pizza, and I know you know I've got an 8-pack so I had to lose that part of it.

It was a good experience. When you talk about the basketball part of it you know you look at it, we played three games, and I thought out of the three games, we learned the most obviously was the game that we lost. The first game we won by 36 points.

The second game that we talked about we played a bunch of Italian professionals and what a game it was.  We ended up losing in double overtime. I think I learned more about my team in the loss than I did to win. Certainly we had the opportunity to win the game. We fell behind and we got ahead. Some guys made some plays down the stretch.

In the last game as you guys read, we were up about I would say 40 points a game and over in Italy every gym that we played in was about 110 degrees and obviously the floor got real slippery and I decided to cancel the game so you could say we were 1-2 if you want to do that, but I thought it was a good experience.

I'm excited about our team. As you know, we've been working out two hours a week on the court, and I got to tell you now the two guys that I've been most impressed with throughout practice has to be Lennard and Omer. I think both of those guys have been extremely good players. I think they pushed each other really really hard throughout this process.

We're getting there. Obviously you know conditioning has been a deal for us and obviously I'm trying to get them in the best shape that they can be in for right now before they start playing. But we're excited as any team in the country to be able to officially start practice on Friday.

So looking forward to it. Excited about our bunch. I think everybody's buying into it. You know if you take most publications that you read, we're going to be ranked anywhere between 11 and 14, which is great for us. I wish we were 15 because certainly I could use that as a motivational factor for those guys.

I like the guys that I'm coaching, and it's a fun bunch. I think like I said everybody is doing everything they are supposed to do on and off the basketball court. So at this time I will take questions from you guys.

What does getting Lennard back provide?

He plays so hard. I went back and I looked at the majority of the games from last year and I as a team, we struggled to rebound the basketball.

Lennard is a very good rebounder. He plays extremely hard. He's probably in the best shape of his life, and I think you guys will see that once you have a chance to watch him play.

Thoughts on the two grad transfer additions... why did you do it?

They were the right fit. When you bring in a grad transfer, they graduated with a bachelor's degree so they can fit the academic purpose of the school. And when you talk about those two guys they certainly do that, but we needed help.

And our help was obviously we lost Terry Henderson. We lost Maverick, and we needed some guards to come in and play. Certainly as you guys know, we play the best conference in college basketball. So if you can stay older it certainly bodes well for.

Omer didn't go to Italy. What difference have you noticed in the last couple of weeks?

Well I think his confidence is back up to where he should be. I talked about this when Omer came in, having to sit out the first semester or the non conference schedule and get thrown into the ACC, I don't think he played with great confidence.

His team was over there in Italy and he was able to come by a little bit. He didn't watch us play, but I think the difference in him is he's playing with a lot of confidence, pride, and passion.

More on the style of play with this year's team...

It's different because you know I've got three legitimate guys with great size that certainly I want to put into the offense.  Don't be surprised when there are times that you're going to see Lennard and Omer on the floor at the same time with this particular bunch.

We want to play the way we want to play and we still go play fast, but it'll be a different version of what it will be in the future because I have bigger guys that can contribute to the program.

More on taking over the program and convincing Omer to return to school...

Well, it was a challenge. When you take over a program and everybody says well these are not my guys. The day that I took the job they became my guys and it was tough.

 I had to convince Omer that you know the situation here would be a little bit different than it was last year. I respected the fact that he went through the process because I thought that was good for him, and he didn't just come back because I recruited him. He listened to what the NBA guys said that he needed to work on it and decided to come back to school.

I think for the most part it was a challenge because you come in and you did recruit those guys and everybody wanted to make sure they had the equal opportunity. I told every guy in the program that I don't have any starters. You determine that.  We will look at every practice in terms of who gets the opportunity to play and how many minutes you play and so far I think everybody bought into that.

You mentioned the two-hour workouts... what have the S&C workouts been like?

They've been good. There has been a lot of lifting weights as you know... but they've been conditioned. I'm not a track guy. I don't take guys outside, do the miles and because I don't think that you play that way when it comes to basketball.

They've been doing a lot of up and down conditioning stuff. Our S&C Coach Pat Murphy does a tremendous job with those guys, but it's a combination on the floor and some weight training and just to play the way we want to play.

Thoughts on the Louisville/NCAA situation related to FBI...

Well I just found out today, and if it's OK with you I'd love it keep everything on this year's team and obviously the future of the future and the upcoming season coming up.

Update on Abdul-Malik Abu...

He's worked extremely hard on his game. The challenge that I have with Malik is I want Malik and Lennard  to be both leaders. They are guys who have been in the program for four years and I want them to take ownership into the program because certainly I need those guys to have a great year for us to be successful.

You add the two grad transfers... I want those seniors and graduates to be able to step up and help the young guys and bring them along.

He has developed his 15-foot jump shot. He started to put the ball on floor a little bit. We're trying to get him out to 15-18 feet where he feels confident to shoot the ball but also rip and take guys off the dribble.

Thoughts on the national anthem situation...

I haven't had the opportunity to talk to our guys.  Last year when this stuff first came out when I was in Wilmington we sat down and we talked as a team. And you know I let everybody express what they felt about the flag and what was going on.

For me, my grandfather was in the military, and I spent 12 years at Hargrave Military Academy so you know military personnel and first responders mean a lot to me.

I haven't had a chance to sit down with this group of guys and kind of get their take on it... I haven't had a chance to talk to my particular group.

We submitted the waiver two weeks to today, and they haven't come back with any questions.  We're anxiously awaiting... as far as what he can do, he can practice and play.... the only thing he's not allowed to do at this point is competition.

Update on the point guard situation...

I'm hoping to get Dennis back.

The guy that needs to play well obviously is Markell Johnson. When you think about the fact that you know he has played in a lot of ACC games... in this league, when you go back historically freshmen struggle in the league and certainly I would like Markell to step up and obviously Lavar and if Braxton gets cleared.

It's a tough league for a freshman to start. As great of a player Dennis was last year, and he was certainly a great player, as a team, we didn't win a lot of games in the conference.

What did you see from your defense in Italy?

Obviously when you have 10 practices you're not going to be the defensive team that you want to be, but I thought we played with energy. I thought we played with passion. I thought guys got on the floor after basketball. We had a couple of guys who took a couple of charges. Those type of things as a coach I was proud of.

I tried to put in enough defensive stuff solely just to get to go through those three games.

How much interaction have you had with the fanbase?

A lot. I have been able to go out and I've been able to talk to a lot of the fanbase, and being on campus with the student body, I think everybody wants the same thing.
 
They understand where we are at as a program and what we need to go. But I think everybody wants a program that they can be proud of that plays with energy and passion all of the time.

More on Torin Dorn...

I think TD is playing with a lot of confidence. He believes in the system. He is going to see a lot of minutes at the small forward position, but if we get in a situation where we have to go small, you'll see a lineup at times where he may play a little power forward or what I call the fourth guard. I think he's doing great.

I like the age of our team. The tough thing about it is the guys who are older haven't won a lot of games, and we've got to figure out how experience can take over.

Thoughts on transitioning to coaching in the ACC...

Coaching is coaching, but when you get between the lines you're focused on what you do best.

For me, my background is coming from Hargrave and as a head coach and then getting the opportunity to be at Wilmington as a head coach, I don't do anything different.

Our guys traditionally compete hard. They play hard on both ends of the floor.