Kevin Keatts: "These Guys Are Going to Keep Battling Every Game"
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 89-82 loss to Syracuse Wednesday night.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.
Opening Statement
My first take away from the game is that we are young, and we were undermanned. I mean, they are playing hard for me. I know there were a lot of questions about whether this team would respond after the way we played at Carolina, and would we come back and fight. I don't think there is any doubt in my mind that we came back and fought. I thought we did some really good things. We had 20 assists on 29 made field goals. We made 16 threes. I was encouraged with Jaylon Gibson. We are down to one post guy, and he has been put into an impossible situation and obviously came out and responded. I couldn't ask for anything more from him. This team has grit. It has fight. Our crowd was great. I knew there was going to be some doubt about if the team would show up after the Carolina game, but it shows that not only do we have fight, but everyone respects the way that we play. The results are not there for how we are playing. We don't have the positive results. We have been through so much, but one thing I will tell you is these guys are going to keep battling every game, and if things don't go in, it's not because they didn't play well, it's because the other team played better. Syracuse made great shots in the second half. They made tough shots. In the second half, there was the team that I saw play against Wake Forest when Buddy [Boeheim] had 30. I thought there was a four minute segment at the beginning of the second half where, defensively, we could not stop them. It is tough to guard them when Jesse [Edwards] is setting screens, and you’ve got to help, but they are shooting the ball so well from the three-point line. I thought we got caught up in that, but man am I proud. I am proud of our guys, and I am going to continue to be because those guys have every reason to put their heads down because things aren't going their way, and it doesn't happen. I know we are not seeing results. It will pay off later for us in the year or next year, but our guys are fighting.
On his thoughts on how Jaylon Gibson played tonight...
Jaylon Gibson has had good days in practice. I know you guys may not believe that, but he has had good days of practice. He has been the player that he was on the court in practice, but it has never translated onto the court. When he gets out there, I feel like he gets a little nervous, and he should be; he is really a freshman. The minutes that he played last year are not enough for him to qualify as a sophomore. I think he played hard. Give his teammates a lot of credit; they are the ones who gave him confidence. They were in his ear the entire time. Manny [Bates] was great before the game, I think Greg [Gantt] was grabbing him a little bit [and talking to him]. Those guys wanted to see their teammate do well. He helped us tonight.
On how we would explain what happened in the final two minutes when NC State was down just one...
I would say we missed some shots and they made some shots. [Joe] Girard, who hadn't played great, made some plays. We knew that Buddy [Boeheim] could at any moment [take over]; he has been great at the end of the shot clock and end of the game. He is the guy that is going to take the shots. We were there on a couple of them. I just thought we made a bad turnover, and they made some shots. I don't think it deflated us, but when you come down and turn it over and they score, it is hard to catch up at the end, and usually their scores are coming from behind the three-point line.
On his team not giving up...
We have a mentality that we are down on our luck right now. We don't know why. Nobody knows why. We think it will make us stronger in the end. It is unfortunate, but what are we going to do? We are not going to cry or fold the season in. We are going to come out and fight. That is what keeps me going with this team because I don't see anyone putting their head down saying, “Poor me.” We know we don't have the depth that we deserve. We don't have the depth that has been recruited. At the end of the day, our guys are at every practice and competing. You wouldn't know if we are 3-and-something or undefeated in the conference because that is the way they respond. That is the type of guys I have in the locker room. That is the type of guys that I am proud of. [We’re] not having a great season, but I can sleep a little bit at night because our guys fight and compete all the time.
On if the fans see how the team supports each other...
Well, I hope so, but once again, I can’t determine what others see. The one thing you know is that everyone is going to have an opinion, but the only opinion that matters to me is the opinion of the guys that are in the locker room. Those are the guys I build relationships with. Those are the guys I look at as my sons, so that’s all that matters to me. I can live with their opinion. When you see Jaylon Gibson get a dunk and the entire bench jumps up and down, man, that’s excitement for your teammate. That's what you want and I’m proud of those guys for that. I’m never going to get down on them, there’s no reason to get down on them because every day they compete for me.
On if there is a time table for Ebenezer Dowuona’s return...
I don’t know. He’s day-to-day. I found out after the [North Carolina] game. I don’t know exactly what happened. I never really saw the play but apparently [Armando] Bacot may have landed on him in some funny way, so it’s a lower leg injury. I don't know to what extent. We tried him a couple times the last couple days to see if he can get up and down [the court], and he just couldn’t do it. I don’t have a time table. Hopefully, he’s ready for Saturday, but I couldn’t promise that.
On Jericole Hellems not playing a lot of minutes tonight...
At one point we practiced — just because we knew [Dowuona] might not be able to play — we were going to be four guards out there and Jericole be the center. Obviously, when you go into a game, the game plan does not always stay the same, and it didn’t. I think the two fouls, I remember him hitting a three and then got a couple fouls and never really got back into the flow of the game. He didn’t have one of his best moments tonight so we had to play other guys.
On if there is a long-term brightside to having to play so many young players...
It’s a major bright side. I mean, Dereon Sebaron is having an incredible sophomore season. Even me, nobody expected him to play this well. Terquavion Smith would probably be Freshman of the Year if it weren’t for [Duke’s Paolo] Banchero, who’s an outstanding player. Breon Pass is starting to come along the last three or four games. Ernest Ross was starting to play his best basketball. You see, the thing is I’m talking about freshmen and sophomores. I don’t know if anybody else in the country, except for Duke, is playing those type of guys and getting valuable experience. I love what we’re seeing, not to diminish some of our upperclassmen — I say few we only have one those guys — [our young guys] are having incredible years. We are just incredibly inexperienced, and it shows at times. We’ll keep fighting and keep getting better, but we’re a dangerous team to play, whether you want to admit it or not. It's hard to play us because, on any given night, we can get it going, and we can beat you.
On the play of guards Cam Hayes and Pass tonight...
I thought Cam did some really good things. I think he had five assists. I thought he passed the ball well. I thought he did some good things. The ball is just not going in the hole for him, I thought he did some really good stuff. He shared the basketball. I thought he did a good job on the defensive end. I will tell you what Cam Hayes did in practice that I have never seen him do before: he took a charge. So I am getting him better. He stepped in and took a charge. We celebrated. We jumped up and down. That is the little things, I have been on him about being better defensively, about doing different things. We are growing in every way. It is weird. I know everybody can sit here and look at the record, but this team is fighting for me and for each other. That is the important thing about it.