Kevin Keatts: "Our Guys Want To Get Out There And Play Basketball"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media via Zoom to discuss the Wolfpack’s upcoming matchup versus Saint Louis Thursday evening.
Opening Statement
“I’m looking forward to getting an opportunity to play tomorrow. As you guys know, it’s been a long road for us, a long couple of weeks, and our guys are just grateful to get back on the court. As I stated earlier this week, we will travel with probably nine guys, and those nine guys are extremely excited about their opportunity. We were able to schedule a game late Monday night with Travis Ford and Saint Louis. He and I got on the phone, and they was looking for an opponent, and so were we. It’s a great opponent. When you look at them, in the latest AP [poll], they’re No. 27. It’s a good thing for us. Very rarely do they get many high majors to come into their program and play, especially an ACC school, but we needed a very good game because we lost the Michigan game and the UConn game. They’re well-coached, returning all five starters. It’s a good program. They’ll enter the game 5-0, and I wanted our team to be challenged. I’m excited about the opportunity to play.”
Do you think now is a good time to play, or would you like to see a pause and re-evaluation of the season because of COVID-19?
“No, I think we should be playing. I think, with our guys in particular and with most of the schools in Division I, we’ve got a pretty good setup. We’re getting tested frequently. Our guys are doing a great job. I will say this to you guys: [Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski] got hammered about pausing, and a lot of people hammered him about pausing because his team had lost a couple of games, and I think that’s ridiculous. I’ve been on calls with him the entire summer, and he’s always talked about possibly starting the season in January or February and playing conference only. I don’t think he was treated right by a lot of folks because it was his opinion and the mere fact that, when he said it, everybody jumped on the fact because he lost a couple home games. I’m sure, if he didn’t coach another game, he would go down as one of the best coaches ever to coach the game, and he’s won a lot of games. I think that was unfair. On our end, there are some concerns. There should be some concerns, but at the end of the day, I do think that we have a safe situation for our guys to continue to play, and we want to play if we can.”
Through three games, how would you evaluate where you’re at as a team? I understand it may be tough to answer right now…
“I think you’re right. I don’t know. We were playing really good basketball. We played two home games, then we went on the road and played UMass Lowell. We were about to play a good UConn team and then follow it up with a Michigan team. I don’t know what type of team I have right now. We’ll find out. I thought at that time we were playing good basketball, but we hadn’t taken a break. When you look at us, I don’t think we’ve played a game since Dec. 3. That’s such a long time, so when you factor that in, you factor in the amount of people that’s traveling with us, you factor how rusty we’ll be, and the way that we like to play, we’ll find out a lot, but our guys want to play. Our guys want to get out there and play basketball, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
How much have you been able to get back onto the court over the last few days?
“This past Saturday was the first time that I actually got back in the gym, and what I mean by that is, at that point, we had six students. Sunday, we had eight guys, and the last few days we’ve been able to practice with our eight guys. I’ve been able to do a lot of four-on-four stuff. Everybody will look and say, ‘Man, you said on Dec. 9 that you paused.’ That’s just when we announced we paused, but we hadn’t had a team practice since Dec. 4 right before we were scheduled to play UConn.”
How did this game come together on such short notice?
“We called around. We posted on WinAD that we were looking for a game. We wanted a Power Five game or an opponent who could be a Quad I game. We were willing to go on the road to anybody’s place and play. As crazy as it seems, there’s not a lot of teams that are available right now because most teams are now getting into conference play. We talked to all of the Power Fives, including the Big East, to see if there was some help. We spoke to the ACC to see if we could get some help from those guys. I just had a hunch and got on the phone with Travis, and I was doing research on the internet, trying to figure out who had games canceled. Travis and I talked, and they needed a game, and we needed a game. There wasn’t any hesitation. I said ‘I’m coming to you’ because we wanted a good opponent. There was a lot of work into it. My assistant coaches were trying to make calls to see who needed a game. The ACC was involved. Yesterday, because of the Virginia and Villanova cancellation, we got a call about possibly playing Villanova, but we’d already signed the Saint Louis contract and wanted to make sure we honored that.”
Do you have any updates on rescheduling the Michigan game?
“I don’t have any updates. I saw that they scheduled a game with Toledo afterward, and because of the limitation on the amount of games, the game probably won’t be rescheduled unless they have a cancellation where we can find a time where we can play. I’m hopeful. I would love to play. I would love to play the UConn game and the Michigan game, but there’s a lot of factors on both ends that have to go into that decision.”
How hard has it been, as a coach, not to have control over what’s going on?
“I would love to be able to know what’s happening, but I have to do exactly what I’ve asked my guys to do: to be flexible and to be ready to make a change. My coaching staff has had to scratch three or four scouting reports that we worked on for countless hours to be ready to play against a team, and then be able to switch gears and play against another team. It’s tough, but who am I to complain with what we have going on in society today?”
How are the players remaining positive during this whole situation?
“They’re doing fine. They’re understanding that it’s a tough situation. I think reality is starting to sink in with those guys that at any moment you could have a game cancelled, at any moment you could possibly have your season cancelled. I think they’re understanding, and they want to have the opportunity to play as much as they can because they don’t know how many games are going to be guaranteed to us.”
How are the younger players adapting versus the veterans?
“I think it’s tough on both. It’s weird because I think the younger guys are able to adapt a little bit more because they’ve never been through a season, so they don’t understand it. With the older guys, they’re used to having things go exactly as they’re scheduled and exactly as they’re planned, and I think that’s been the biggest adjustment for them. You see disappointment in those guys’ faces when you hear that you’re not going to play. I have to get them on a Zoom, and I want to explain it to them before it hits national or local media that we’re going to have a cancellation. It’s crazy now when I call for a Zoom in the evening time. They all feel like something bad is going to happen, so I’ve got to figure out how to call for a Zoom and tell them something great. I think the older guys struggle with it a little bit more because they’ve been through it and are used to what they’re used to.”
With everything in flux, how are you guys adjusting to the new norm?
“I’m giving those guys information as soon as I get it. I don’t leave it up to guess work, and I ask them everyday to be prepared for the unusual, and I think that’s the biggest thing. We’re coping with it. For the older guys, I’m telling them, ‘Hey, you don’t know if this thing is going to end or how many games we’re going to possibly play, so I want you to experience it and love every opportunity that you have.’ For the younger guys, we say, ‘Hey, you’re not having a normal freshman year. I know this is your first freshman year, but things will get back to normal one day, and you’ll realize this is a lot different than what most freshmen typically go through when they enter college.’ As a coaching staff, we’ve had to be able to make adjustments and make adjustments on the fly. I don’t know what type of team I have right now because we haven’t played in so long, but the great opportunity is that my guys want to play basketball, and we’re going to try to give them that opportunity to do so.”
Do you have a timeline to possibly getting more players after this game?
“I don’t. Everything that we deal with, whether it’s related to any type of injury or COVID issue, is strictly in the hands of the medical [team]. We’ll listen to those guys, and when they tell me folks are cleared, that’s when we’ll play them. The main deal is the safety and health of our players, and if they’re not 110 percent based on what the medical people tell me, it has nothing to do with me as a coach. It has nothing to do with the player. If the medical people don’t clear them, then we won’t play them.”
Would you have been in a position to play Louisville tonight if that was still on the schedule?
“Yes, we were prepared tonight as we are prepared to play tomorrow. That being said, Louisville has to listen to their medical folks. If our medical folks felt like we were not prepared or ready to play, then we wouldn’t have played. I think everybody’s program is different. As coaches, we don’t have as much control in making those decisions, and we don’t want to. Based on where things are going and talking our medical people and their medical people, they didn’t feel like they were prepared to play tonight, and that’s what it is."