NC State coach Kevin Keatts was fired up after the 84-78 win over Boston College in his interview with the Wolfpack Radio Network. One thing about Keatts that will never change, the entire concept of having a conference game be played in November or December he disdains. So, to get a ACC win in December had him excited.
Did the team get more grit today?
“I am pumped for my team. We played a very good Boston College team on their home floor. We were sick [not literally]. We talk about all the time coming in after a loss, we had lost two games, in Vegas with BYU and on the road where we didn’t have it [at Ole Miss]. I told them it would take everybody. It would take a collective team to get this done. We solved two problems today — No. 1 we got well; and the other one is we got an ACC road win, [which] you know is golden in this league.
“I’m pumped for our team and excited for the play, excited for a lot of guys. I thought we did a lot of good things.”
You had talked about consistency from the starters. The guys stepped up after not playing well at Ole Miss. How was the turn-around of that group?
“These guys, it’s early and I’m still learning my team and they are still learning me. What I would say today is I learned a lot about them. We have some grit. When things weren’t going our way, and we started off hot in regulation, but Boston College did a great job of sending it to overtime. You find out a lot about your team when you have some adversity. I thought we answered the bell.
“They went up two, we came down and hit a three and we made our free throws. We did a good job down the stretch. I’m very happy with our guys. We just want to continue to build on this. It’s early in the season. Typically, you aren’t playing a conference game this early. For us to get one early in December, means a lot.”
Did you challenge Jayden Taylor and D.J. Horne after the Ole Miss game?
“I challenged everybody, and not just our players, but our staff, including myself. We just had to be better. I understand there is going to be some growing pains because we need chemistry.
“We have to continue to learn each other and continue to grow and do it together. That was our message to figure out how to do it the NC State way and to do it together.”
What was your vibe going into overtime on the bench?
“I wanted us to get off to a good start. Typically, the team that scores first in overtime, usually wins. I wanted us to get off to a good start. We played a lot of guys and I knew the guys had enough energy in them. This is where our conditioning kicked in because of the hard work that you see just to win overtime games.”
Did you call for the Mohamad Diarra three-pointer in overtime?
“One hundred percent. I was telling them to shoot it. Casey [Morsell] passed up on a couple of shots where they were sinking in on him with D.J. [Burns], and all the other stuff.
“It’s a good, gutsy win and a good road win. It’s a good building block. This team needed a good road win. We got the good neutral court win against Vanderbilt. To go to someone’s place and get a good win, it just happened to be an ACC place, is even better.”
What was the game-plan to slow down Quinten Post and his three-point shooting?
“He is such a good player. I just watched him play Vanderbilt and he was 4 for 6 from three and he has 24 points. He gets 12 from three and 12 from the inside. We went into the game saying we can not let us beat us both ways. If he’s going to score his points, they have to be inside the three-point line. We were prepared to switch and do some good things. He’s a good player, but we have to contain him. I thought we did a good job and were able to put different bodies on him to make it tough on him.”
Post had no three-pointers and Claudell Harris had two, so you made them not be three-point shooters. That the plan?
“We did a good job and we want to continue to build on that. Outside of one or two games, we’ve done a really good job early guarding the three-point line. Obviously, our stats are a little crazy because BYU made every shot they took. That being said, I’m happy. It was a good win for us. It was a great win. Nobody likes those early ACC games, but you love them when you win them.”
You don’t win without Mohamed Diarra. How was he with eight points, 18 rebounds and two blocks?
“He is back healthy. A lot of people were like, ‘What happened to Mo?’ Nothing happened to him. He had an ankle injury that really caused some problems. I thought Mo was good. I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] was great. I thought D.J. Horne was really good. I thought D.J. Burns had his moments. Even the guys that came into the game and didn’t play a lot, Dennis [Parker] was good and Ernest [Ross] did what he was supposed to do. We had a team effort where everybody contributed to this win.
“You know what we are doing, we are going for ice cream.”
Did the team get more grit today?
“I am pumped for my team. We played a very good Boston College team on their home floor. We were sick [not literally]. We talk about all the time coming in after a loss, we had lost two games, in Vegas with BYU and on the road where we didn’t have it [at Ole Miss]. I told them it would take everybody. It would take a collective team to get this done. We solved two problems today — No. 1 we got well; and the other one is we got an ACC road win, [which] you know is golden in this league.
“I’m pumped for our team and excited for the play, excited for a lot of guys. I thought we did a lot of good things.”
You had talked about consistency from the starters. The guys stepped up after not playing well at Ole Miss. How was the turn-around of that group?
“These guys, it’s early and I’m still learning my team and they are still learning me. What I would say today is I learned a lot about them. We have some grit. When things weren’t going our way, and we started off hot in regulation, but Boston College did a great job of sending it to overtime. You find out a lot about your team when you have some adversity. I thought we answered the bell.
“They went up two, we came down and hit a three and we made our free throws. We did a good job down the stretch. I’m very happy with our guys. We just want to continue to build on this. It’s early in the season. Typically, you aren’t playing a conference game this early. For us to get one early in December, means a lot.”
Did you challenge Jayden Taylor and D.J. Horne after the Ole Miss game?
“I challenged everybody, and not just our players, but our staff, including myself. We just had to be better. I understand there is going to be some growing pains because we need chemistry.
“We have to continue to learn each other and continue to grow and do it together. That was our message to figure out how to do it the NC State way and to do it together.”
What was your vibe going into overtime on the bench?
“I wanted us to get off to a good start. Typically, the team that scores first in overtime, usually wins. I wanted us to get off to a good start. We played a lot of guys and I knew the guys had enough energy in them. This is where our conditioning kicked in because of the hard work that you see just to win overtime games.”
Did you call for the Mohamad Diarra three-pointer in overtime?
“One hundred percent. I was telling them to shoot it. Casey [Morsell] passed up on a couple of shots where they were sinking in on him with D.J. [Burns], and all the other stuff.
“It’s a good, gutsy win and a good road win. It’s a good building block. This team needed a good road win. We got the good neutral court win against Vanderbilt. To go to someone’s place and get a good win, it just happened to be an ACC place, is even better.”
What was the game-plan to slow down Quinten Post and his three-point shooting?
“He is such a good player. I just watched him play Vanderbilt and he was 4 for 6 from three and he has 24 points. He gets 12 from three and 12 from the inside. We went into the game saying we can not let us beat us both ways. If he’s going to score his points, they have to be inside the three-point line. We were prepared to switch and do some good things. He’s a good player, but we have to contain him. I thought we did a good job and were able to put different bodies on him to make it tough on him.”
Post had no three-pointers and Claudell Harris had two, so you made them not be three-point shooters. That the plan?
“We did a good job and we want to continue to build on that. Outside of one or two games, we’ve done a really good job early guarding the three-point line. Obviously, our stats are a little crazy because BYU made every shot they took. That being said, I’m happy. It was a good win for us. It was a great win. Nobody likes those early ACC games, but you love them when you win them.”
You don’t win without Mohamed Diarra. How was he with eight points, 18 rebounds and two blocks?
“He is back healthy. A lot of people were like, ‘What happened to Mo?’ Nothing happened to him. He had an ankle injury that really caused some problems. I thought Mo was good. I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] was great. I thought D.J. Horne was really good. I thought D.J. Burns had his moments. Even the guys that came into the game and didn’t play a lot, Dennis [Parker] was good and Ernest [Ross] did what he was supposed to do. We had a team effort where everybody contributed to this win.
“You know what we are doing, we are going for ice cream.”
