NC State junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu compared the last few weeks for the basketball program to the dark ages. Mark Gottfried was gone, and the players were left waiting for director of athletics Debbie Yow to find his replacement.
Yow had told Abu about the coaching search that led to Gottfried’s hiring in 2011.
“About how it took a long time,” Abu noted. “She told me she wasn’t going to wait that long [this time].”
Taking her word for it, Abu sat back and patiently waited. Senior forward Lennard Freeman, who redshirted last season, admitted to checking the Internet frequently for rumors. Redshirt sophomore wing Torin Dorn said that he tried not to focus on it.
Friday morning the news broke that third-year UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts was going to meet with Yow. Keatts was a logical candidate for the job. He was an assistant at Louisville when they reached the Final Four in back-to-back years and won the 2013 national title.
WATCH: Kevin Keatts' introductory press conference
In three years at Wilmington, he developed a previously doormat Colonial Athletic Association program to a league powerhouse that won three straight regular-season titles and back-to-back conference tourneys that resulted in automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
Two years ago, NCSU sophomore forward Shaun Kirk was close to joining that Wilmington program. He was recruited by Keatts and took a visit to the school. Kirk became the go-to contact on the team for information about the potential new hire.
Kirk told his teammates that Keatts is “a great guy, a great coach, too.”
“He’s not the type of coach that just tells you what you want to hear,” Kirk added. “He’s straightforward with you and wants what is best for you as a person.”
The news that Keatts would be hired to replace Gottfried broke shortly after 5 p.m. that same Friday. Freeman reacted with unbridled joy.
“I think we got the coach that we all wanted,” Freeman said. He then added, “It was a big deal.”
Abu was more a tad more subdued for a reason: he was taking a nap. After waking up after 6 p.m., he saw the news.
“Good dreams!” Abu thought.
READ: New coach Kevin Keatts has lengthy to-do list
Dorn’s excitement stemmed from an outsider’s perspective of a program he had followed closely. Although he was not recruited by Keatts, he too nearly picked UNC Wilmington out of college (the Seahawks were in his top three) but instead signed with Charlotte.
Two of his former teammates with the 49ers, Denzel Ingram and Marcus Bryan, transferred to Wilmington to play for Keatts. Dorn saw the Seahakws win 29 games this season.
“He had gotten them playing at a high level,” Dorn said.
Saturday afternoon, the full team got what was for many their first personal interaction with Keatts when a team meeting was called for 4 p.m. The guys, in about an hour’s time, saw what Kirk had meant.
“Shaun, you were right,” they told him.
“They love him already,” Kirk said. “Not even spending an hour with him, they love him to death. When you have that kind of connection with your coach, a lot of great things can be accomplished.”
Abu compared the coaching search to starting a big paper for school: “You just got to start it, and you didn’t know where to go.”
Abu professed that the players are sad Gottfried is no longer with them, but they are glad the next step is finally ahead of them.
“With Coach Keatts being hired, I feel like it’s a good next step, and now everyone can lay out their plan and see what they want to do,” Abu said.
A year ago, Abu entered his name into the NBA Draft before withdrawing and returning to school. Freshman center Omer Yurtseven, who was at Saturday’s press conference, has already done that this year.
Abu said that he has not decided if he will do it again.
“I don’t know when the deadline is for that, but I haven’t really been focused on it,” Abu said. “I’m looking forward to being here. I love it here. This is my home.”
Freeman knows his status: he’s all-in with Keatts and the Pack, especially after the new coach made it clear he was counting on Freeman for next season.
“That’s all he really needed to say,” Freeman said. “That’s definitely enough for me to stay.”
More of The Wolfpacker’s coverage on the hiring of Keatts:
• Kevin Keatts closing in on his first assistant coach
• Column: NC State basketball gets high grade for Kevin Keatts hire
• Podcast: Breaking down the hire with 1983 NCAA Champion Ernie Myers
• Reflecting back on the coaching search
• Recruiting analyst Eric Bossi praises NC State’s hire of Keatts
• Photo gallery of the introductory press conference
• Kevin Keatts has been winning for decades
• Video reel: Kevin Keatts’ introductory press conference
• Audio: New NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts introductory PC
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