NC State gritted out a win against Pitt yesterday. Now, that shouldn’t sound like a big deal, except when you look at that kind of win in the context of NC State’s last 5-8 years of basketball. Those 8 or so years have been marred by a team that is inconsistent at best, and down right soft at worst.
The Mark Gottfried era was one of extreme highs and depressing lows. There were the 2 Sweet 16 runs and recruiting TJ Warren and Dennis Smith Jr both who are averaging double digits in scoring in the NBA. Then there are the depressing lows, the 51 point loss to UNC, and totaling 9 ACC wins in Gottfried’s last 2 seasons. Those teams were maddening, they could go on the road and beat Duke and then lose their next 7.
Kevin Keatts has come in and totally changed NC State. A lot of the players from the Gottfried era are now gone except for Torin Dorn who is the protypical Keatts player. He’s versatile, can handle the ball and plays defense. They have been replaced by players that have a different mindset. This team plays a distinctive style, it is high pressure and wants to cause turnovers.
They play 4 ball handlers and 1 big man. Last year Keatts ran a hybrid style of what he wanted. This season he has brought in players like CJ Brice, Devon Daniels, DJ Funderburk, Blake Harris, Wyatt Walker, Braxton Beverly and Sacha Killeya-Jones (who is sitting out this season but will be eligible next season) all fit into a system that Keatts wants to run.
The biggest difference that fans are noticing is that Keatts teams play this thing called defense. The style of defense is built on causing turnovers and not your standard lock down play defense for 30 seconds and make your opponents take a bad shot. They want to turn you over, make you speed up and make mistakes. And the fan base is noticing.
If you look at the Twitter mentions during an NC State basketball game, you are seeing an appreciation of the style that Keatts has brought. Keatts claimed in his introductory press conference that he was a winner. What we are seeing in Raleigh, is just proof that when he gets his players in, a his system, his teams will win….
Make sure you follow the All Sports Discussion Twitter account at @AllSportsDACC and please like our Facebook Page
Leave a Reply