It’s going to be a whirlwind, this introduction to Kevin Keatts’ first edition of the NC State Wolfpack. He’s promised a faster offense, a pressing style and an intensity that hasn’t been seen in Raleigh in recent memory.
He doesn’t have all of his weapons yet — his first recruiting class included a couple of college graduates, transfers and freshmen, some of whom aren’t yet eligible.
Over the next seven days, Keatts will have to chance to show Wolfpack fans what they can expect on a consistent basis.
Keatts’ initial team will play more than 20 percent of its 19-game home schedule in the next week, giving eager fans who want to know how the new coach and his team will be tangibly different from the squad that finished 15-17 overall and 4-14 in the ACC last season.
The Pack’s season begins 7 p.m. Friday against the Virginia Military Institute at PNC Arena. It then plays Charleston Southern on Sunday, Bryant on Tuesday and Presbyterian on Thursday.
Prior to Christmas, the Pack will have played more than half of its home games, and then will begin an 18-game ACC schedule at Clemson on Dec. 30. NC State will not play more than two home games in a row the remainder of the season.
So fans will become familiar with Keatts’ expected style of play pretty quickly, even though he wants everyone to know that what they see this year will be about 75 percent of what he wants to do in the future, after he completes his first full recruiting cycle at his new school. So far, that’s going well, with his current class rated No. 16 nationally by Rivals.com.
“We are a work in progress,” Keatts said. “Do I expect to have my entire program in this year? I would tell you probably not … We don’t even have an entire roster at this point.”
Historically, it’s not the typical way for the Wolfpack to start a season. Former coach Herb Sendek twice played that many games in such a short period of time to start the season, but only because he hosted two early-season tournaments with three consecutive games — the 2005 Hispanic College Fund Classic and the 2001 Black Coaches Association Classic.
Sendek played a lot of early season home games, including his next-to-last squad, which played eight in a row at home, including the first four over 10 days. In 2002-03, the Pack played five straight to open the season, but they were spread out over three weeks.
Sidney Lowe’s first team played its first five games at home, but over the course of 17 days. And Mark Gottfried’s 2014-15 team played its first six games at home, spread out over 15 days. The first four of those were played over 10 days.
Former coach Les Robinson twice played at least five in a row at home to start the season, but over a less concentrated timeframe. Both of those early season streaks included at least 10 days off for exams.
Norman Sloan’s first team played four straight home games over 10 days to open the season, but it ended up as the worst campaign of his storied career.
The only time Everett Case ever played more than three home games to begin the season was in 1949-50 — the season NC State opened long-awaited Reynolds Coliseum.
Case scheduled 10 consecutive home games that first season in the team’s new home, starting with the opener against Washington & Lee and including two games against Michigan on back-to-back nights. Throw in three games in Case’s own holiday tournament, the Dixie Classic, and a home contest against Pete Newell’s San Francisco, then a national power, and it was a pretty good way to inaugurate the most important building ever built on a North Carolina campus.
For Keatts, the next week will be a similar opportunity to show off what he plans to do differently, in terms of style and intensity, even if he doesn’t have a full complement of players at his disposal.
Yet.
Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.
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