Kevin Keatts breaks down the Wolfpack basketball roster

NC State Wolfpack basketball coach Kevin Keatts, entering his fourth season in Raleigh, held a virtual media day on Tuesday. During the course of his nearly 30-minute press conference, Keatts touched on each of the scholarship players on his roster.

Here is a breakdown of Keatts’ comments on each.

"Thomas Allen is a combo guard who can really score the basketball, but he's had some moments at Nebraska where he's played the point."

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“A lot of people have forgotten about him. When you think about it, let’s look at his last three years. Went to Brewester Academy, same place that T.J. Warren went, probably has the leading scoring average there, put up a lot of numbers. Then went out to Nebraska and really averaged in the last couple of years somewhere around 7-10 points per game, not quite as high as 10.

"What makes him unique is his ability to score the basketball. A lot of people are going to look at him as a shooter. I look at him as a guy that can score at all different levels. I am excited about him. I hope people don’t talk about him. He can make shots. He’s a guy that can get hot in a quick moment.

"Similar to Vinnie Johnson, 'The Microwave.' I don’t want all you guys saying that, 'Coach just said that Thomas Allen was Vinnie Johnson,' but that’s the way he scores the basketball.

"He’ll play different roles for us. You are going to see him play some one, you are going to see him play some two. I like because he is older he brings some leadership to the table, also.”

"Manny has put on some weight."

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"It was mind-boggling to me that Manny Bates didn't make an all-defensive team. I mean, I would have voted him as a defensive player of the year. How many times have you seen a guy lead the ACC [in blocked shots] and not make a team. ...

"But he's coming along offensively. He's starting to get a lot more confidence around the basket. His development has been really huge for us this summer. He's starting to believe in himself.

"You think about his shoulder, and what he went through. He was a little timid, and he and I talked about this, offensively, being careful the way he's hit and position yourself so he doesn't get hit hard. He started to play through contact. He started to not worry about his shoulder as much, and he started to become an offensive threat, where we can throw the ball to him in the post."

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"When we recruited him, I told my assistant coaches, "Man, he's going to lead the ACC in shot blocks,' and he was like, 'No way.' And he did his first year playing.

"He's got great timing. You know one of the things that I talked about is, I love the fact that he's blocked all those shots, that's a good thing. The problem I'm having is, is it a good thing? Because that means our guards are getting beat off the dribble a lot. ... I want him to lead the league in shot blocks, but also wanting to play more minutes, so I ... don't need those guys to get beat off the dribble where he's happening to block shots, all the time."

"Braxton Beverly has been a tremendous leader."

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"Braxton Beverly has played a lot of point for us in his career."

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"You know Braxton is my age now, where he and I played high school together. I tease him about that all the time.

"His health is fine. He's in practice and people will be glad, Wolfpack Nation will be glad to hear that he's shooting the ball well, and he's been in practice. But that being said, because he's my age, I have to take some days off ... so we're gonna be very careful with him."

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"He has to stay healthy as much as he can, but he’s got to be able to play some point guard if we need to because we do have some young guys."

"Devon Daniels has stepped up, and we're hoping that we can get the same Devon Daniels that we saw at the end of the year that we were so excited about it."

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"I don’t want him to think that he has to do so much. I want him to be the Devon Daniels that played last year, that at the end of the year he was a really, really good basketball player. That’s the part that I am looking for."

"Ebe, think of a younger Manny Bates — block shots. You know he's a physical presence, nice body, can score around the basket. Is going to be really good."

"Nick Farrar, who is going to be really good, at his size he's going to play a little four and then possibly some three, but he's a guy that's had to get in great shape, as we talked about. One of the things with him is making sure that he can play to our style by obviously getting in great shape, watching what he's eating and changing his entire body.

"But he's a guy, when you think about what he did in high school, can really score the basketball, so he's going to be a really good basketball player for us."

"DJ Funderburk, we've worked a lot at playing a little four and five. And so hopefully you have a chance to see him play some perimeter stuff."

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"With DJ, we want him to get better shooting the ball behind the three-point line and more ball security. He’s got to do a good job. He only had eight assists on the year last year. We’re going to play him at the four spot, he’s got to improve those."

"Jaylon Gibson has a nose for the basketball. He offensive rebounds everything. He's a guy that's going to play a little four and five. When you think Jaylon Gibson, think about [a] younger DJ Funderburk.

"Just got a chance to be really talented. Can handle the ball on the break and step out and shoot threes."

"I like what Cam Hayes has brought to the table, he's a guy with a tremendous IQ as a basketball player.

"He's going to be really good for us, both him and Shakeel Moore … Cam's a little bit further along because he's played more point than anybody, and he's doing a tremendous job. … Cam's done a tremendous job [shooting] because he's making shots behind the three-point line. and also he's a great one, two-dribble pull-up guy, and what we're trying to get him to do is be more effective really getting to the backboard."

"The next [most versatile player] would probably be Jericole because Jericole ... we put him on a wing, he can play two, three and then into a four situation, and he can also play five if we had to go small inside,"

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“That kid has gotten better pretty much every year. He’s the way you want a guy to progress throughout the years. Went from a freshman year, got better as a sophomore and then we’re hoping to have a really good breakthrough year as a junior. He was playing as well a basketball as any of the ACC, obviously before he took that nasty fall over at Wake Forest.

"You’ll see some opportunity for him to play the small forward this year, you’ll see him playing some power forward this year. He’s added on some bulk. He’s really done a great job working on his ball handling because if he’s going to be a perimeter guy, I told him one of the things he’s got to get better at is making decisions in handling the basketball, and he’s actually put in some work with that area.”

"Shakeel Moore is a tremendous athlete, probably our best on-the-ball defender in our program. He does a tremendous job affecting the game on the defensive end, is starting to get a little bit more confident on his shot."

"He's a guy who's talented, who can play one, two and three and in a pinch, we can play him as a small ball as a four, if we go four-guard lineup. Really good at getting to the paint. Maybe our best paint touch guy that we have. We're continuing to work on him with his outside shot and making sure you get a lot of confidence in that area."

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"I would say probably the most versatile guy would be Dereon Seabron, because of his height. He can play one, two, three and if we go small ball he can play four, but he's a guy that is probably best suited for that."

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