On Jan. 8., 2017, the NC State men’s basketball team was riding high with a 12-3, 1-1 ACC record following a promising 104-78 victory over Virginia Tech in PNC Arena.
The Wolfpack entered Chapel Hill confident and battle-ready for No. 14 UNC-Chapel Hill; however, the Pack was dreadful from start to finish and suffered its worst loss since 1921. Taking into consideration the one-sided nature of the rivalry, UNC administered a beating rarely seen when the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels meet.
It was an absolute beatdown that NC State fans will not only remember for the embarrassing 51-point blowout but also for the eventual exit of head coach Mark Gottfried.
The Pack would only win two of its next eight games leading up to a rematch with the Heels in PNC Arena. While the home tilt performance didn’t mirror the former on the scoreboard, the outcome was still the same as UNC massacred the Wolfpack for the season sweep, 97-73.
The loss marked the fifth time the Pack lost by 24 points or more in ACC play and NC State Athletic Director Debbie Yow announced that Gottfried would be terminated at the end of the 2016-17 season hours after the defeat.
Controversy swirled as the announcement was made in the middle of the season and, more importantly, since Gottfried had led the Wolfpack to four NCAA Tournament appearances and two Sweet 16 berths despite finishing the past two seasons ranking 13th in the conference standings.
Yow hired UNC-Wilmington’s Kevin Keatts as the 20th coach in program history on March 17, 2017 to start the new era. While the former Louisville assistant coach was a good hire, the general consensus among the media, fans and followers alike was that the 2017-18 men’s basketball season would be a rebuilding year for the lowly Wolfpack.
However, this has been no rebuilding year.
NC State is currently 15-7 and 5-4 in the ACC and sits tied for fifth in the conference standings after an improbable overtime win over the No. 10 Tar Heels in Chapel Hill, 95-91; in fact, the memorable victory occurred exactly 384 days since the infamous 51-point lopsided loss.
Keatts has managed to rally a ragtag group that lost its top-three scorers from the 2016-17 season, including Dennis Smith Jr., Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan, into a giant killer on Tobacco Road.
In his first year, Keatts has clearly gotten the most out of his players, specifically sophomore center Omer Yurtseven and sophomore guard Markell Johnson.
Yurtseven, who was a five-star prospect in the class of 2016, was one of the biggest disappointments of the 2016-17 season. The Istanbul, Turkey native often looked dazed and confused on the court in his freshman season; however, he’s exploded onto the scene in his sophomore campaign thus propelling his name into the NBA Draft conversation.
The 7-footer has often shouldered the scoring burden, tallying games of 29, 28 and 22 points; in fact, he garnered ACC Player of the Week honors for his performances against the Hurricanes and Wake Forest.
As for Johnson, he played second fiddle to the NBA-bound Smith in his first year. The Cleveland, Ohio native showed potential in scarce minutes last year, and now he’s become the facilitator of the Pack’s offense.
Johnson has strung together three-straight 10-plus assist games and developed an offensive game. The point guard had the game of his life on Saturday, scoring a career-high 20 points along with a team-high 11 assists.
Although Keatts inherited Gottfried’s crop of players, the difference is he’s altered the culture of NC State men’s basketball in his first year at the helm.
Last season, the Wolfpack had a tendency to quit in games where it was trailing and give up on the defensive end. Uncontested 3-pointers and wide-open drives to the lane were commonplace, and opposing players had a simple game plan when facing the Pack.
“We knew if we got up on them early, they’d quit,” Wake Forest guard Keyshawn Woods told the Greensboro News & Record after the Demon Deacons handed NC State a 30-point loss last season.
While there have been some hiccups in the Pack’s play, the effort has always been there this season.
To combat the poor defensive effort, Keatts put the Wolfpack through a rigorous offseason conditioning program, resulting in faster play and increased endurance. The physical characteristics of Keatts’ squad translates to a down-but-never-out mentality.
Keatts installed a full-court press on defense that pesters opposing teams and limits open shots. The Wolfpack’s defensive intensity has paid off as it ranks first in the ACC in turnovers forced per game and second in turnover margin.
On offense the up-tempo style pushes the pace and results in easy transition buckets. The Pack’s offseason conditioning allows the squad to run with any team in the country, tiring out the opposition.
The mental fortitude of NC State has seen a dramatic overhaul as well. Against UNC on Saturday, the Pack answered every Tar Heel run and always remained within striking distance.
The Lynchburg, Virginia native, as Johnson told ABC11-WTVD, “believes in all of us.” Well Keatts’ belief in his squad has resulted in three monumental victories and a promising foundation in Raleigh. NC State has now defeated three top-10 teams, No. 2 Arizona, No. 2 Duke and No. 10 UNC-Chapel Hill, and four ranked opponents.
Nine games into ACC play and the Wolfpack seems to have a tournament-esque resume in what was supposed to be a rebuilding year full of growing pains.
The 51-point drubbing, the worst loss against the Tar Heels in 96 years, happened just over one year ago, yet it’s incredible to see the difference just 384 days, a coaching change and a renewed attitude can make.
