Kevin Keatts: "Social Media Is Not Reality"

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts discussed Greg Gantt, the upcoming matchup against Wake Forest, the team's success on the road, and much more on the ACC's weekly teleconference.

NOTE: Click the video above to watch the interview.

Do you have any reason as to why you have had more success on the road than at home this year?
I have no idea, but it’s weird because if you go back to last year when we won those five games in a row, it seems like we had some success on the road.

I don’t have an answer to that, and I’m not even going to begin to say that we play better on the road, but I will say we have more wins on the road than we would typically have at home.

That being said, we have a great homecourt advantage to play in. We play that one game at Reynolds and then we play in the PNC [Arena]... great atmosphere against Carolina, we just have had a little bit more success the last couple years playing on the road. I don’t know if there is an exact reason for that. 

You added Greg Gantt as a transfer but he didn’t play this year. How much have you been able to see from him this year and what are your expectations going forward?
It’s funny, I was talking to the coaches this morning.  The frontcourt that we thought we would have, we just have never had. That’s Manny Bates, Greg Gantt, and then obviously Ernest Ross.

We’ve thrown him in practice, and he’s starting to get better. He had to go through a healing process, which has gone very well for him. The other thing is that through that process he had put on some extra weight that certainly wasn’t his playing weight. Now he’s starting to get back in shape.

He worked out this morning, and he was really good in practice. He’ll be ready to go, obviously he’s not going to play this year, but he’ll be ready to go next year. That’s the good thing about what we have here. Through all the injuries, you have some good players that didn’t get a chance to play that will get to play next year. 

When building a program, is it more important to have a good showing at home for the program and fan support?
It’s always great to win at home, and we’ve had a lot of success at home over my years and been pretty daggone good here.

This team is a little bit different. I wouldn’t put anything into home and away wins or losses this year because it’s a different team. It’s not the team that everybody thought that we would have because of injuries. 

If you go back to the first three years and into the fourth year, we’ve had such a great advantage at home. I think we’ve beaten seven or eight top-25 teams. I remember beating Duke when they were No. 2, so we’ve had a lot of success at home.

This team is just different. It depends on with our group whether we shoot the ball well, whether you are home or away, whether we win the game or not because obviously we’re very challenged with our frontcourt guys. 

We’re at the point to pick the ACC Player of the Year. Who gave you the hardest time?  Who stands out?
Well you can’t ask me that after what Bacot did on Saturday. That’s just not fair. He had 18 and 13 the first game, and I didn’t even think he played great, and 28 and 18, those numbers are eye-popping. If you’re asking me on Monday after the last game we played, then certainly Armando Bacot was pretty daggone good. 

That being said, there’s a lot of great players in this league. I’ll go back and when we decide who to vote on, I’ll take a look at it. Not to slight anybody else. You’ve got a lot of guys who are really good.

My guy is having a good year in Seabron. We’re going to play against Williams on Wednesday at Wake. There’s just so many good players in this league, but today, after Saturday, Bacot was really good. 

Will Dereon be pulled down by the team record?
I’m not sure. Coaches look at different things. All I can tell you is that he’s had a tremendous year for us. I don’t know if there’s been another guy in the league, I know there’s a couple out there, that has had a bigger improvement than him in the league, going from six points a game to 18 and eight rebounds.

He’s had a great year, but I’m not sure how everybody will look at it.  I just know that he’s been a really good player for us. 

From a personal standpoint, social media is a dark place.  With the season you've had, how do you deal with that with these guys?
It’s the world that we live in.

At times, it can be a different world, but I always say that social media is not reality. It’s not.  The folks who are on social media can be really great at times, and then at times they can be harsh. The most consistent thing about it for every coach in this league, including myself, they’re not into our practices, they’re not in our locker room. They don’t know what we share as a family. They don’t know the things that we go through behind the scenes. 

You only get a chance to get a snapshot of every basketball program, and that’s typically when you’re on game night. They don’t get a chance to see that, so the love is what we have in this program. I’ll be the first to say we’re not having a great year, but there are reasons for that.

At the end of the day, I’m so proud of the guys that compete with me every day and the guys we have in practice. 

What I tell everybody is, “Don’t let social media affect you one way or the other.” Even when they are telling you that you’re great, just accept it. When they’re telling you that you stink or the coach stinks or everybody else, just accept it. It shouldn't determine your mood or how you go about your day-to-day or how you play.

That’s the way I’ve always been able to look at it. I’m humble one way or the other. When you stay humble and you stay locked into your belief and locked into your team, that’s all that matters. 

Alondes Williams at Wake was at one point leading the league in scoring and assists. How difficult is that to do in this era?
He’s talented.

That's another young man... I think they did a great job of identifying a guy who is playing with great confidence. When you go back and look at his days with Oklahoma, he was a good player, but he’s turned out to be a great player this year. A guy who can score and pass, it’s a big issue to be able to defend him because when you stop him, he’s a willing passer. 

I think what makes him special is, and I’ve watched him on tape several times and even watched their last game, and their recent game.  He doesn’t force a lot. He lets the game come to him. He’s actually OK with making a great play and pass to other folks. I think that’s important.

He’s a tough matchup because he’s not, in my opinion, going out trying to just score 25 a game. He’s trying to play a complete game, so he’s a really good basketball player, and he’ll be another big challenge for us on Wednesday.