Kevin Keatts: "We've Got To Get Better"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media via Zoom following the Wolfpack's 70-65 loss to Clemson Saturday afternoon.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
Opening Statement
I thought our guys played hard. I thought the difference in the game was P.J. Hall. [He] really hurt us. When you look at our production in the post, it’s not just P.J.; we got driven a little more than I would’ve liked to. I thought we really got hurt giving up 44 points in the paint. That’s not a great formula for us to win. We’ve got to get better, and it’s not just on our big guys. Our guards have got to do a little bit better job getting deflections, so we’ve got to work with those guys. Give Clemson credit; they finished the game. I thought we had some bright spots in the game. [Dereon] Seabron was Seabron, but one of the biggest things we didn’t have [was that] we have three guys that are playing really well offensively for us, and when you look at it, Terquavion [Smith] had an off night. He was 0-for-7, which you’re going to get sometimes from a freshman, and then Jericole [Hellems], I thought, had some moments but didn’t play great. We’ll keep working. We’ll get better. We’ll figure out how to help our bigs. When we played against Virginia Tech, we did a lot of doubling of the post. Clemson did a good job of entering the ball at the high post, at the top of the key, where we couldn’t get to a situation where we could double those guys. Our guys have to do a better job getting around the front, not letting it be easy to come in.
On Clemson’s defense prioritizing the paint, allowing NC State more three-point shot opportunities...
I think it was a little similar to what Virginia Tech did, but we moved the ball and made shots. Terquavion is a guy that can score the ball. I thought he had some good looks, but he forced a couple shots, but we had some good shots. We just didn’t finish. Today, instead of [at] Virginia Tech, we didn’t pass the ball as well. We didn’t find open guys. When you look at it, that’s why we had eight assists, and we had turnovers because we overdrove at times.
On Seabron’s performance and what he’s been able to accomplish already this seasaon...
He’s having an incredible year. He’s blossomed in a lot of areas. I told you we have three guys consistently on the offensive end being very consistent. It’s very hard to argue with the year that he’s having, and people are gameplanning against him, but he’s still putting up great numbers and getting rebounds. I would love to have him a little more aggressive in the first half, and in the second half, he gets in a little takeover mode, but I can’t say enough about what he’s done for this team so far.
On whether he intentionally tried to feed Ebenezer Dowuona and Jaylon Gibson in the post against the Tigers...
It was something that was just there. Those guys are not ready to handle getting post feeds and being able to make shots right now. They’re better off right now setting pick-and-rolls and running to the rim. I thought we had a couple looks there where they set good screens and got to the front of the rim, and we lobbed it up to them. A couple times, they got caught behind. Our guys fed them. They trust them to give them the basketball, but it was nothing we worked on to make it happen.