Kevin Keatts: I Want Them To Have More Buy-In On Defensive End

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts discussed Terquavion Smith, Dereon Seabron, Wake Forest and much more with the media on his weekly ACC teleconference.    

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the teleconference.

You’ve had some inconsistencies with guys who have played really well at times... how are you talking them through taking opportunities and being aggressive?
Here’s the biggest thing, and I think every coach would say this, when you get into February, some of the offensive plays that you’ve been running... may not go, you may not even shoot the ball as well because obviously a lot of teams will have tired legs. At the end of the day, you’ve got to rely on your defense to get you out of some games. 

This was one of the games that we just played against Notre Dame where we were not sharp offensively. Most of the time we’ve been able to score, and when we didn’t score, I thought we gave up too many easy transition baskets. We got off to a tremendously slow start. I think we were down 21-4, and our guys came back and took the lead at 43-40. 

Some of our better guys, I want them to have more buy-in and do a better job on the defensive end because you’re not always going to have a great night.

In Seabron’s case, he’s had a great year for us, but teams are starting to gameplan against him and making him become more of a passer. In our situation, I want him to be able to create some stuff and some opportunities off of his defense. 

The comebacks have been impressive but the starts... just coming out with a lack of energy or focus? What do you attribute it to?
I just think it’s the youth.

It’s so funny, I may need to give my halftime speech at the beginning of the game, and maybe that will change things around. I think one of our deals is, and I’ve got to look at this, we don’t have so many bodies in warmups.  I want to cut it down a little bit so we come out of the gate ready to go.

Right now we only have seven, eight, possibly nine, scholarship guys playing. That may be something we have to change what we’re doing at the beginning because I want to get off to a better start. 

It seems like Terquavion is playing more on the ball. Is that out of necessity and how does that impact him long-term?
We’re moving him around for a couple of reasons.

It’s probably more so that we can get Seabron in different spots. If you remember at the beginning of the year we played him off the ball, and he was very effective. We moved him to the basketball, and he was very effective. I think as teams adjust to where he is on the floor, that gives a different role for Terquavion as far as on the ball. 

He’s very capable.  I know most people don’t realize this, he’s capable of playing some point guard if you need him to because he’s got good size. You have to respect him off ball-screens because of his ability to shoot it. He can make some plays off of that. It’s more of a combination of trying to move Seabron in different places. 

You have Wake this week... your thoughts on them?
Talented.

I know this has been said, but they’ve done a good job of identifying some great transfers that really fit into their system to be able to play the way they want to play. They’re playing with a lot of confidence.

(Alondes) Williams is as good as they come. He’s a really good player, but there’s so many good pieces around him. They’re playing with great confidence. They’re playing their basketball and probably one of the hottest teams in our league right now. 

Ebe and Jaylon... you’ve said they are still really freshmen because of limited minutes last year.  They’ve shown some growth.  How have you seen them progress?
It’s funny, both have had games where you are like, “here they come. They are going to be good.”

You think about over at Duke, Ebe I think he had 10 points and nine offensive rebounds. You’re like, “man, this guy is coming.”  Then with the Syracuse game, you saw a Jaylon Gibson that we haven’t seen the entire year. 

Both of those guys have done a great job in practice. They really beat up on each other and have gotten better in practice. It’s been hard to get it from practice to the game where they’re more consistent. That being said, I think they both have grown in a lot of areas. 

We didn’t know which one, but coming into the year, we expected them to maybe play nine or 10 minutes to back up Manny Bates. Both of them, in a tough situation, have stepped up for us in different ways. I’m proud of their growth.

You cannot substitute the experience that they are getting this year. We will be better for it, whether it’s at the end of this season or next year. I think both have taken really positive steps. 

What do you want to see from them this last month?
I just think it’s consistency. At this point, we are who we are. I think both of those guys know that they have to play. With Ernest gone and Greg is not available and Manny, so I want them to come in and play with extreme confidence. They’ve been playing all year long. 

Nobody is going to feel sorry for us. You’re playing in the ACC, and you’re an ACC scholarship guy. So I want them to accept that role and go in there and play.

You saw Notre Dame twice in 11 days. What do they do defensively this year to where their numbers are really good?
I know you asked me about defense but I’ll say something offensively that helps them defensively. When you look at the team last year, you had Durham who was a good defensive player and now you get Atkinson who can really score. It makes them tough.  Now they have an inside-out threat and are making 10 three-pointers a game.

I think that has really helped them on the defensive end because it seems they are a more connected group and bought in on the defensive side of the ball. That's what you get from a veteran group.  

Last year they had a bunch of guys trying to figure out each other. Now that they’ve had some experience and played together for a year, they understand to be really good they have to defend. Last year they’d try to outscore you and now they are playing winning basketball.  When veteran teams decide they have to defend, it’s hard to beat them because most teams can score the ball.

Give Mike credit. He has them bought in on the defensive end more than anything.