KEATTS: "There Were Highs And Lows"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 72-60 win over Appalachian State Sunday evening.
NOTE: Click the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
“I thought it was a really good game for us becuase there were highs and lows in the game. We knew coming in the only game I could compare this one to was when they played Michigan earlier in the year, and Michigan was up about 25-30 points, and then they came back and made it an eight-point game. We knew it was going to be a tough game. They’ve done a tremendous job on the defensive end. They play pack line. They blitz out on all screens. We talked about, in the locker room after the game, every game that we play in the non-conference will certainly prepare us for the rest of our ACC season. We’re excited about it. I liked the way our guys responded. It was one of those games where, if they weren’t prepared or mentally tough enough, we could have folded a little bit. I thought our guys locked in and finished the game.”
“It’s the weirdest thing. We were in shoot-around, and our shoot-arounds are nothing like they used to be. We would go 45 minutes of shooting and going over stuff, and it was the last play. We were anticipating they may run a 1-2-2 press against us, and we were going over our press-breaker. Somehow, they broke the press, and Manny gets a dunk. C.J.’s right there challenging him, and [Bates] hit him with his hand right up in here. He was a little bit woozy, so we wanted to make sure he was okay. I never had anybody that this happened to on game day, so it’s tough because you have to make adjustments on the fly. It may turn out to be a blessing, not because he’s hurt, but because of the fact we got to play D.J. a lot at the four today.”
“Right now, he is not defensively where I need him to be at that position. The way we play defensively, we switch at the 1-4 positions, and he hasn’t had the chance to play that often enough. He will get the chance to play a lot at the four the further we get into ACC play, but I need to continue to work with him on defense at that position. Overall, I thought the big line up was great. Both Manny Bates and DJ Funderburk rebounded the ball well, ending with nine rebounds. Markell Johnson had 11 rebonuds, so I think something must be wrong that our point guard is our best rebounder.”
“It’s hard and I hope that it is just this year that is like this. We are playing 20 games so we ended up playing the opening of the year and then one game in December. It is a little weird, so I don’t think that it will stay this way the whole time. I do think that there are a couple of teams that will play before the fourth. I know Duke and Miami have only played one game, so I don’t know if everyone is waiting until next Saturday to play. It is different.”
“I am excited for the ACC. I live and die on every game, so I love the excitement of getting ready for every game. I am old school and really enjoy the practice and preparation more than the players do. I am excited for the challenge of conference play. I really liked our non-conference schedule this year and felt like we were able to get a lot out of it. We played some really good high major teams and some good mid-major teams that were tough. I think it works out for us. We are prepared to go into ACC play, but as we know, ACC opponents are tough. Our guys will have to be physically and mentally ready to play.”
“I thought we made some really good decisions, but I also thought we made some poor decisions. We turned it over 15 times, which I would not have liked to happen, and I thought we over-penetrated at times. It can be hard with players because you can show them on tape and talk about it, but you can’t play for them. Appalachian State plays a pack-line (defense) like Virginia, so if you take too many dribbles and penetrate too much, they are going to get a steal. At times, I thought we over-penetrated. When you look at the assists, Markell Johnson will always be our guy that makes plays. D.J. Funderburk is his buddy, so he loves getting him the ball down low.”
“I haven’t had an update on what happened to him and if he tweaked his back. I didn’t even know he went to the locker room; I just subbed him out because I wanted to see a different lineup and get someone else in there. He is a warrior, making it hard to keep him out the game. I don’t know why he missed so many shots. He made his first two three’s of the game, before missing his next nine.”
“I’m not worried about it today. We didn’t press because we were down in numbers and I started every guard on our roster that is on scholarship. We ran a little 2-2-1, but it was a softer zone. We didn’t trap and didn’t run an aggressive defense today. I am not concerned about it. When we get CJ Bryce back and have nine players in the rotation again, we will get back into the press, but I just didn’t have any other guys to sub so we could press.”