Following a 14-11 campaign last season, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts expressed a new life and energy in his program entering 2021-22.

The Wolfpack head coach started off his media day availability by “addressing the obvious.” Keatts congratulated fellow coaching colleague Dave Doeren and the football team for their big win over No. 9 Clemson Saturday.

Keatts was there to take it all in at Carter-Finley Stadium this weekend and jokingly admitted to “losing his composure” out of sheer excitement for the team’s big moment. He was not alone among those wearing red and white in Raleigh Saturday.

One of the most glaring takeaways the coach had from that game was how electric it was to have full attendance again and how that may have given the Wolfpack an advantage in its upset of the Tigers.

Keatts is hoping that PNC Arena can also return to normal this upcoming season, although he warned Wolfpack Nation that “indoor sports are trickier” and that the athletic department is still figuring out ways to keep fans comfortable and safe amidst the pandemic.

As for his team, Keatts “likes his pieces.”

“I’ve got a lot of pieces to think about on this team,” he continued. “I think you guys will like it. We have a lot of guys that can play multiple positions.”

He also likes what he sees early on from his three-man freshman class of forward Ernest Ross, and guards Terquavion Smith and Breon Pass. Keatts says at least one of those freshmen will crack the starting lineup at some point this year but added that he didn’t expect that to be the case early on in the season.

Personnel-wise, NC State’s departures among major contributors include big man D.J. Funderburk, as well as guards Devon Daniels and Shakeel Moore.

Daniels suffered a season-ending injury in January. Out of necessity, Keatts had to go big with his lineup, pairing Funderburk and then-redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates together in the post.

The move worked out, and the Wolfpack found most of its success in conference play towards the end of the season.

But now with Funderburk gone, and an abundance of unproven talent behind Bates on the frontcourt depth chart, Keatts says he won’t abandon his bigger lineup strategy completely, but added other candidates could bring a “big guard” skill set to the role Funderburk played.

Of the “big guards,” Keatts cited top returning scorer Jericole Hellems, Ross, transfer forward Greg Gantt and sophomore forward Jaylon Gibson.

The Wolfpack head coach admits Bates is still head and shoulders above his other options in the post, both physically and skill set-wise, but noted that he’s been impressed with the development of Gibson and sophomore center Ebenezer Dowuona this offseason.

He says both of those guys have put on weight and added strength to their games this summer. But of the second-year players with the most significant body transformations, it was sophomore guard Cam Hayes that stood out.

Hayes says he’s put on 10 pounds, and the eye test checks out every ounce of that estimate.

“When you see Cam Hayes, you’re going to see a different guy,” Keatts said.

The head coach added that his freshman class this season is considerably ahead of where last year’s freshmen were because of his ability to work with them and get them on campus this summer. He also says last year’s freshmen are showing the kind of development needed for them to fulfill their roles as contributors.

Another big strategic checkmark seems to be going to Keatts’ liking. The head coach declared that all of his eligible Tier 1 personnel on the team are fully vaccinated. He said there was one individual that “wasn’t eligible” until this November but did not express that there would be a delay beyond that point.

The final question he received asked if he thought the recent retirement announcements of UNC coach Roy Williams and Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski would have any impact on his program and the way it was received.

While he admitted that the ACC would feel much different without those Hall of Fame coaches on the sidelines, he expressed an internal focus that suggested their departures don’t exactly change much for NC State.

“I don't think that changes how they look at the way I'm going to do my job,” Keatts said. “We're gonna go out there and we're going to recruit the guys that we feel like fit NC State and play the system that we play in.

"Time will tell. It's early. I don't like to be called the older guy in the Triangle, I don't. At the end of the day, I'm excited that I'm the coach at NC State. To me, that's really the only thing that matters.”

——

• Talk about it inside The State of Basketball

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook