LOCKER ROOM REPORT: Keatts, Beverly on loss to UVa
NC State men’s basketball suffered another hard-fought loss Wednesday night, falling 64-57 to No. 14 Virginia at PNC Arena.
Kevin Keatts and Braxton Beverly spoke to the media after the loss, here’s a full breakdown of everything they had to say:
Kevin Keatts
Opening Statement
I’m proud of these guys for their fight. This is the second game in a row that our guys have battled. This one was a little different. Obviously you’ve got the No. 1 team in the conference and No. 14 in the country, who is in your building. I thought we did some good stuff.
What we’ve got to find out and figure out is that I’ve got to get a little bit more scoring from the guard position. For the second game in a row, basically our bigs have been carrying us. Our team has shifted as far as who we are, when you look at the way that Jericole Hellems is playing and also [Manny Bates]. And D.J. being able to come in and contribute today. We’ve got to get a little better scoring and more scoring from our guard position because we lost so much from Devon Daniels.
We talked about, obviously, getting better. I think this team has learned a lot about themselves in the last couple games because we didn’t know how we were going to react going to Syracuse without Devon for the first time, and D.J. in that game. And then obviously playing the University of Virginia today.
Why didn’t D.J. Funderburk play in the last six minutes?
Well, they hired me. I’m the coach. I felt like Manny was going to be the guy that was going to play. Obviously we wanted Manny in there. Obviously D.J. had scored, but I also wanted a guy that could be able to stop them from scoring. We needed to get stops to even be able to get the ball back. I don’t feel like I answer questions like ‘Why so and so plays or not.’ Manny Bates has been playing tremendous for us. That was my decision and my decision only.
How has Jericole Hellems’ mentality changed in the last couple games?
Well, he’s playing well. He’s doing everything that we’ve asked him to do. He’s playing like a junior. He’s playing like a guy that’s been in the program for three years. He’s gotten better. He works at it. He’s a hard worker. The kid has done everything that we’ve asked him to do. You’ve seen his game get better since he’s been a freshman.
How big did you think the free-throw discrepancy and your struggles at the line were?
Well, I thought the play that really completely changed the game around was I thought that [Jay Huff] walked, and he got an and-1. I think that changed the game. It was 52-48 with about four minutes left in the game, and that was a complete game changer for us. Give Virginia credit. They got the calls. They got there.
How frustrating is it not to be able to get momentum with everything going on this season?
It’s frustrating. I’ll be the first to tell you that the kids are frustrated. I’m glad you asked Braxton because typically I’ve stayed away from asking those guys how they feel. But it’s tough. It’s something that everybody is going to go through. This is an unusual year. We’re going to go through ups and downs. We’ve still got a lot of basketball to play, and we’re still going to have some situations.
The injuries are going to happen every year, but obviously with COVID anything can happen to you. We’ve just got to figure out how to capitalize on our situation. I’m blessed that our guys are able to play games. We’re getting better, but I’ve got some young guards that need experience. Once they get experience and continue to play, they’re going to be really good basketball players. We’re hoping that it happens sooner than later. That’s just the reality of what we are dealing with this year. We’re in a national pandemic.
Braxton Beverly
You guys gave another great effort. Why weren’t you able to get the result that you wanted in the end?
It’s just learning for us. Like you said, we played a good game. We played a hard-fought game. There was a couple mistakes that we’ve just got to fix. It’s something that’s fixable. The way this season’s went, the adversity everybody on this team has had to go through in terms of COVID, missing people, people sitting out, injuries and people playing through injuries. It’s been a learning challenge for sure. The good news, the bright side of it is that we can learn from this. We can fix what we need to fix. That can get us over that hump.
Are you surprised at the way Jericole Hellems is playing right now?
It doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve known Cole, I’ve seen Cole work his butt off since he’s been here. He’s getting what he’s earned. I couldn’t be any more proud of him for what he’s doing, the way he’s stepping up. He’s been a huge lift for us. So I’m glad he’s playing confident, doing what he’s learned to do and what he’s been in the gym working to do.
Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore didn’t have a ton, but they seem like they’re playing with more confidence. How much have you guys had to take control of this offense over these last couple games without having a ball dominant guard like Devon Daniels taking over?
It’s been different. The biggest thing is they’re two young guards and they were thrown in the fire from the get go. It’s hard to play four games and then hop right into ACC play. That’s hard to do. It’s hard for anybody to do. It’s hard for us to do as seniors. It’s hard for any team in the conference. They’re learning. That’s all we can ask from them right now. They’re starting to get it more. They’re playing more confident. They’re figuring things out, what we need from them and what they can bring to the table for us. But we’ve got a lot of games left to play. We’ve got games that are being rescheduled that hopefully we’ll play. So they’ve just to go stay confident and we’ve got to stay on them and help them continue that confidence going forward.
Virginia outscored you guys by 13 at the free throw line and I think you guys missed 5 of 12. Do you think you guys maybe let this one get away at the line.
I think that definitely is something that obviously wasn’t a positive thing for us. I’m not going to say that beat us, because it’s not like we were missing them down the stretch. But of course, we’ve got to hit more. We’ve got to shoot a better percentage, starting with me. But like I said, that’s something that can be fixed. That’s something we can get in the gym, work on and build your confidence for.
D.J. was out for the last six minutes of the game. How much did that change what you guys were trying to do on both ends of the floor with him not being on the court.
It definitely changes. On the defensive side, Manny’s one of the better defenders in the country with his shot-blocking ability and the ability to alter shots and alter plays with him on the defensive side. But of course, offensively, D.J. can stretch it out and bounce the four out, space out a little bit more. So it definitely has its perks and downfalls, but I think Manny stepped up and made some nice moves when we got it to him on the block. So I don’t think it’s a big deal.
Virginia averages 8.6 turnovers per game and tonight you guys forced them into 11 turnovers. What did you guys do defensively to force that?
We just do what we do every day in practice. Try to get up pressure, try to get them to play faster. I think there might be two or three lower than them in terms of pace that they play. So we obviously wanted to speed that up a little bit and get them a little out of their comfort zone. No matter how good you are, if you’re out of your comfort zone, it’s going to be tough. You’re going to make mistakes that you don’t normally make. Maybe force some shots you don’t normally shoot. To force a disciplined team to force turnovers like that is what we were looking to do, and it’s a positive thing for us.