NC State players detail what Kevin Keatts means to them
NC State head basketball coach Kevin Keatts in the midst of his seventh season at the helm for the Wolfpack, which will go down as a truly special one as he’s helped lead the team’s improbable ACC Tournament run all the way to the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament.
Keatts’ journey has not been as easy one, finding himself in the hot seat during the season and now one game away from delivering NC State to a national championship appearance. As his players opened up on is impact on themselves and the program overall ahead of their Final Four matchup against Purdue.
“I would say, man, he kind of changed the trajectory of what I had going on,” NC State center DJ Burns said. “I was up in Winthrop and didn’t really know how this was going to play out when I put my name in that portal. Honestly, I didn’t even at first think I was coming here. For this, it’s just an absolute blessing, and I think that man needs a lot more respect still.”
“I can build off that,” Michael O’Connell added. “He’s had confidence in me since day one when he contacted me in the portal. Just to play for a coach like this who just has faith in you and pushes you to be your best every day. When you make mistakes, he holds you accountable. When you are doing well, he will compliment you and keep pushing you to do better. It means the world to be playing for him. It makes the game so much easier when you are out there.”
Keatts’ squad is largely comprised of additions through the transfer portal, with his entire starting lineup featuring players that previously spent time at another program. And while NC State did face adversity this season, like losing their final four games of the regular season, Keatts helped them respond at the perfect time. Winning five straight games in the ACC Tournament to take home the conference title as a 10-seed followed by four more consecutive wins to reach the Final Four for the first time since 1983.
“I agree with everything they said,” DJ Horne said. “My little piece, I will just say Coach gave me an opportunity to come back home and play basketball, and the confidence that he instills in me every day allows me to go out there and do what I do.”
“Just to know that all the ups and downs we had in our season and when it could have been easy to quit, I felt like he was the main one that kept us all together and kept the outlook on our whole season very positive and gave us a lot of confidence going into that ACC Tournament,” Horned concluded.
Keatts not only brought together NC State’s team from across the country, but he instilled them with the confidence and the capability to make the most improbable run of this year’s NCAA Tournament. As they’ll look to keep their momentum going and win their 10th straight game on Sunday at 6:09 p.m. ET in Glendale, Arizona versus Purdue.