NC State
NC State's Kevin Keatts shares his thoughts after the Wolfpack's big win against Duke
NC State's head coach, Kevin Keatts, shares his thoughts after the Wolfpack's big win against Duke
To the game plan, to the right, you know, to the right direction and did everything, right? Um I'm proud of these guys. I mean, we're fighting and um that's a good thing about it. And, you know, we, we talked about coming to this tournament and really not looking ahead like I just told him, I have no idea who's next. Uh But we wanted to concentrate on just our next opponent and I will say, you know, since we got here on Monday, uh these guys have been very professional, locked into everything we needed to do and uh we've got three really good wins right now. So once again, I know you guys love this. If you're a part of wack nation, we survive and advance. So questions open up the floor. I'm sorry, I'm open up the fluid. Any questions you from uh Mike Barber Richmond Times, dispatch for both players. Uh When Ben misses the, the stick, the dunk and then gets the technical on the stick back. What did you guys think? And what did you understand about kind of what was being called and what was happening there? Don't say what you really mean, don't, I'm gonna let him go and answer his face was mad like we had to have a conversation about it. No, I mean, I, I didn't know Tech was coming. Uh right after that. Um You know, I was already shocked but the tech by itself, you know, um it threw us all in all but um you know, all we could do is just focus on the next play. Um You know, it was good that we got the ball back and uh it gave us a good opportunity to execute and get a bucket. So, you know, we just had to move on and have a short memory. Ok, gentlemen, in the fifth row, Adam Gotkin with orange fizz. This is for both the players, you guys are the first double digit seed to make it to the semifinals since 2010. How does it feel to hear that? And has it really kicked in what you guys just did today? Um I mean, coming into this tournament, we came in with a mindset that we're just gonna be focused on the guys in our locker room. So, uh I think we've been showing that and to accomplish what we just did today is good. We're gonna celebrate it, but we know that it's gonna be a short turnaround for tomorrow and the job is not done. So we gotta do it again. Ok, Jim in the fourth row DJ into the back end there, you made the free throws. NC State was struggling at the line. Did you kind of want the ball in your hands there at, at the end of that game? Yup. A straight like that. Now, I just want the ball when it time I wanted him to have the ball too. Just so you know that. Ok. And back John Tittel from hoops HD for coach, um, you've played VC and Virginia a total of four times this year. You've not lost to the, any of them in regulation. Do you have extra confidence because of your track record or do you think you have a good idea of what they put out on the court, you know, how to respond to it? No, I mean, they, they listen, they both are good programs and well coached and, you know, obviously, you know, you can take a little bit from, you know, the, the games that we played against them, but everybody's a little bit different at this time, you know, Virginia, you know, when we played them early at our place, you know, they were just trying to figure it out. We got a great win but obviously went on the road and was, you know, we did a good job, but Boston College is good, you know, he's, he's, he's really got those guys playing and, you know, Quentin Post is really good. So both teams got good players, good coaches and, and we will, we will have to go back and, you know, it's gonna be a long night for my staff and we're gonna kind of figure out, you know how they're playing now and just try to prepare for tomorrow. Ok, Nua, uh Michael shot from the saber.com after losing seven of 94 in a row to end the regular season. It would have been easy to kind of fold like we've seen teams do it before. What's fueling this team kind of this could be for coach Keats and the players, what's keeping y'all going, what has fueled what I think we can now call a run. Yeah, I'll, I'll answer that first. I mean, you know, we had a tough backend schedule, like, you know, I, I said this before when I look at our schedule, you know, it's a lot of teams in that. We got 15 teams in there all ranked in conference schedule. We got the third, toughest conference schedule and, you know, we played all the ranked teams and everything else. So when we looked at our schedule, we knew that our back end was a really tough. Um, obviously we, you know, we, I don't know if we, I don't know if any program in the history of basketball has played Carolina Duke on a Saturday and, and trying to run a play on Monday. Thanks to the AC C I got no problem with that. Now, um that being said, you know, we just had to refocus and understand that the, everything that we had done before that we are a good basketball team. We just had some challenges going down the stretch and, you know, during that time, um, you know, a lot of things going on, you know, when we just, you know, we, we said when we got to the tournament, we can play and we can beat anybody in this league. The unfortunate thing about it is that everybody else could do the same thing. So I think we're locked in. Ok, gentlemen, third row Brett Friedlander, Saturday, road.com. This is for the players and Kevin, you can chime in too if you, if you like kind of piggybacking on the last question, the, the vibe outside the program fans and us when you were losing those four in a row to end the season was, oh, wow. Now it's the opposite. What was it like in the locker room? How different was the, the vibe during that last couple of weeks during the regular season compared to these last few days? Um I mean, I would say throughout the, um good times and bad throughout the season. I mean, we've, we've always been connected. Um and we always believed, um, and, you know, I think, you know, throughout our last few stretch of games, um, you know, we just had to, um, not beat ourselves as much. Um You know, I feel like we were kind of our own worst enemy in terms of, you know, second chance opportunities, just, you know, different opportunities that I think other teams took advantage of and we reduced that heading into the tournament. I think that's what held us to get momentum. Ok. Uh, gentlemen, second row here. Uh Charlie Gribble, Pac Pride, 247 sports. This is for coach. Um, how much of a concern now does it become, uh, to keep you guys fresh and healthy as you, as you embark on your fourth game in four days? We got, we played four games, four days. I didn't know that. Now, we're, we're just listen, it's, it's, it's, you know, you got to play every game and, you know, obviously, um, we're prepared for this. I would say this, you know, a lot of people, we talk about our conditioning and you know how it pays off for us and, you know, when you look at those three games that we play, honestly, we look like they're both more fresh team than anybody. Uh, we're still picking up, we're still getting after people and it's more of a mindset than a physical thing and our guys believe and understand and, you know, we, we've been able to rotate guys in and out and so, you know, we just, at this time of the year, everybody's gonna have some nicks and bruises and you gotta be able to fight through some of that. Ok, young man, the second row coach David Glenn from the North Carolina Sports Network. These guys always play a ton of minutes for you. Mohammed doesn't always play 37. Michael doesn't always play 35. How do those two guys make your chemistry kind of maximize what you have done? Well, you know, Michael is the only pure point guard that we have on our team. He's the smartest guy in our program. I mean, I'm talking about book smarts and just basketball wise. He knows what he's doing. A kid, graduate, not kid. The young man graduated from Stanford in three years. And so um he, he's very heady, knows who to get the ball to. Um you know, he, he's starting to get a voice, which I didn't have early in the year. Now he's starting to talk to everybody and telling everybody, you know, obviously where to be and, and get motivated and then Moe's just, um Moe's just gotten better. I mean, he is just uh he's our leading rebounder. He, he's uh you know, kind of one of those guys that can play inside out. He's doing a lot of good things for us. And so I think with the emergence of those guys, you know, add uh add it to these three guys. And Jane Taylor and DJ Burns is kind of given us really seven veteran guys who are really good and then the other guys are adding to what we have. OK, fourth row here, Josh Graham wsjs coach you've mentioned several times that you grew up watching this tournament. Everyone remembers games like this. What does it mean to you to at NC State? Have a win like this going on a run now to the first semifinal that you've been at it. Yeah, it's, uh, it means everything. I, you know, I grew up in Lynchburg, Virginia and I just, I knew AC C basketball, I mean, loved it, you know, I just my time and, um, you know, other than, you know, I, I will say this, this will be a good one. You can report this. I actually like Greensboro a lot. You know, I like it just a little bit just so I know that part of it. Um, I'm very familiar with it and it, it means a lot to, um, to me, my family, you know, my, my parents are back home and they're watching basketball, they're not really into sports, they're Kevin Keiths fans and, you know, they obviously getting a chance to see me on TV and have the opportunity to coach these guys. Um, man, it feels great. I mean, it's, it's, it's really good, great. I'm here. This one's for Casey. Um, you know, you talked about earlier in the week coming home, you said you were getting your Lito's pizza, getting to see your family. How special has it been to be here back in the DMV? And not only that, but to now be a part of this run here, you know, in your home area. Um Yeah, it's huge. I think it's a great story. Um You know, I think we, um you know, I love this team and I love this city and, uh you know, to be here and, you know, shine on the biggest stage here in DC. Um It's a great moment. I I value, OK, we have one more question. Uh, for both the players you heard coach talk about the energy and, and looking like the fresher team, obviously, you want to rest tonight. Will you guys watch this next game in your hotel rooms as a team by yourselves? What, what's the plan? Uh, we just gonna keep everything the same, probably go and watch a little bit of film, uh, personnel and all that, but, uh, really about getting rest right now, get ready for tomorrow. Yeah, they won't watch film tonight. We don't even know we're playing yet. So, no, we, we get, we're getting out there. They, they'll get back and, um, we'll get dinner and, um, they don't, they don't watch games. The coaching staff is gonna watch games. We'll, we'll put a game plan together. They're not gonna watch game Casey Casey. Um, I saw him last night and it, it's great that he's back home. Uh, was it last night or this morning? He was, he was sitting there hanging with his mom and dad. It was a great thing. So he'll be in the lobby, shaking hands and everything. I think everybody from the DMV has come by to see him and he may be, he may be the last player that's standing from this area. I don't know that. Uh but I know some, I know Judas and uh Jeremy Roach and some good players from this area that's playing in the AC C. So I agree. You agree. Who else? Why, why we, why are we bringing Marco up right now? Thank you.