Locker Room Report: Wolfpack Players

NC State's Lennard Freeman, Darius Hicks, and Torin Dorn met with the media after the win over Bryant.

NOTE: To view each interview click the player's video above. 

Junior Guard Torin Dorn
(On his dunk)
“I just go out and play. Honestly, I saw the defense. My man was up high, and me and Markell made eye contact, and he made an amazing pass. I just jumped, and the rest is history. 

(On the team’s playing style)
“It fits me a lot. I think I can drive and attack and get to the basket and just play aggressive. The space, the floor being so open, it creates a lot of space, a lot of driving lanes.”

(On getting off to a shaky start)
“They started off six-for-six. They were making some tough shots. They’ve been off since Friday. We’ve played two games back to back. Give it up to those guys. They just made those shots early. When you’re a pressing team and a trapping team you have to stay the course, and we were able to turn up the pressure defensively.”

(On finding out Braxton Beverly would be eligible to play)
“We found out right before the game. I was in the hot tub before the game, and they walked in and said Braxton was cleared, and we all just kind of jumped on him and embraced him. We were really happy for him. Honestly, I had no clue. We are not even worrying about it.  We were just focusing on the game, and we were just surprised really.” 

(On how much he likes the press)
“Its good. I think that the pressure causes problems for the offense and gives us easy points and easy buckets.” 

(On trusting the press)
“When you turn teams over and you are able to push tempo, there are always going be times when you can come back and play to the lead. We should never get flustered after we go down ten or down 20 for that matter. With the press, we are always able to come back and chip into leads.” 

(On what the team has to work on)
“There are always things we can work on. They scored, how many, 72 points? We didn’t hold them to zero, so there are always things we can work on, but it feels good sitting at 3-0.”

Senior Forward Lennard Freeman
(On his performance tonight)
“We came out, we played hard, that’s really it. I played hard. The baskets were falling for me. I still think I have to do better defensively, but it was a great team win. I just so happened to score more than I usually score, but I still have a long way to go.”

(On the moment when Braxton Beverly checked in)
“It was crazy. I knew our fans were going to go crazy as soon as he went in. I didn’t even see him check in, but once I heard the crowd start going crazy, I was like, ‘Yeah, that must be Brax checking in right now.’ It’s great to see him out there. I’m happy for him. Everyone’s happy for him.”

(On when the team found out Braxton Beverly could play)
“We didn’t even know, honestly. We didn’t know until probably when we got to PNC to go out on the court. He came in and was getting taped. He was like, ‘I’m getting ready to play.’ We didn’t know until about an hour before the game.”

(On staying calm through a slow start)
“That’s just how we play with the presses and everything. When you get down, (with) the way we press, we can score quick baskets like that. When we got down, Coach Keatts just said to stay the course, just chip away. That’s what happened. With our press, we turned them over a little bit, fought back, and won the game by a lot.”

(On if the team was looking for him to score)
“That was the game plan. Coach Keatts said to play bully ball. We’re bigger than them, so try to go inside, play inside-out, and don’t force them in there. Shooters can get open, and if they don’t dig down, we go to work. That was the main thing, just playing inside-out.”

(On Coach Keatts’s enthusiasm)
“That’s what I love about Coach Keatts. In practice, he’s working out with us sometimes. He’s into it just as much as we’re into it. When he’s out there, it feels like we have a sixth defender out there. He’s on the sidelines screaming and yelling. I love it.”

(On how thankful he is)
“Life’s so great right now. I’m feeling good. We’re 3-0, and school is good. Everything’s going great right now. 2017 is a good year.”

(On what a good stat line means to him)
“I’m not even going to lie. Honestly, I didn’t even know I had 20 (points) until I came out of the game. I was just out there playing. It was a good performance. I’m just glad we got the win. It would’ve been a waste if I’d had 20 points and we lost, so I’m just happy we won out there.”

(On Torin Dorn’s dunking)
“Torin didn’t even know he had that in him. That’s the dunk of the year so far. When he did that, that definitely got us rolling. He didn’t even know it. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”

(On how much fun he’s having)
“After sitting out last year, everything is fun. The bus ride here is fun. Warming up is fun. Everything’s fun. I’m glad to be out here, glad to be a part of this team. It’s going to be a great experience.”

(On his career high scoring performance)
“I score every now and then. It’s just the way we play, gets the bigs a little bit more involved. When we play, everyone shares the ball. Any given night can be anybody’s day. Today was just my day.”

(On being compared to T.J. Warren)
“Let’s not get carried away. There’s only one Tony Buckets.”

(On what he’s passing on to Darius Hicks)
“The coaches just always tell me to tell him a little bit about everything. (I) just give him a little bit of wisdom and some stuff that I’ve learned. I just tell him to go hard, be aggressive. He’s like me in my freshman and sophomore years. I wasn’t as aggressive.”

Sophomore Forward Darius Hicks
(On turning the game around after a slow start) 
“I honestly don’t know why we came out sluggish, really. When we started picking it up on defense and started making little plays and 50-50 balls, that really got us energetic and got us in the game.”

(On causing multiple turnovers with the press)
“Its fun. When you start turning it over, its real fun. We have a variety of different presses. It just depends on what Coach Keats calls. We just mainly try to get the first ball handler and get the ball out of his hands really quick.”

(On being able to play with Braxton Beverly)
“That was really exciting because that’s one of my brothers. He’s been working so hard and stuck with it when the NCAA hit him with the deny and appeal. He stayed with it and stayed positive. It’s really good to see him out there.”