Conventional basketball? Not by NC State this season, Kevin Keatts says.

It’s practically a requirement on media day for a college basketball coach to promise his team will run more and use a deeper bench.

Reality rarely matches the preseason promise but with Kevin Keatts, you get the feeling the second-year N.C. State coach actually means it.

“I know we played fast but I want to play faster with this team,” Keatts said on Monday.

The Wolfpack did play fast last season. N.C. State averaged 71.4 possessions per 40 minutes, according to Ken Pomeroy’s numbers. N.C. State ranked No. 38 in the country in adjusted tempo, and first among ACC teams, according to Pomeroy.

That was with a roster Keatts had inherited from former coach Mark Gottfried. Keatts made the roster over on the fly before the 2017-18 season and again this offseason. Keatts was down to about a 7-man rotation by the end of last season.

It’s difficult to press the way Keatts did at UNC-Wilmington, and wants to with the Wolfpack, without a deeper rotation.

“We didn’t get a chance to utilize all of our presses,” Keatts said. “I would love to press some more, mix it up a little bit more.”

With only three holdovers from last season’s 21-win, NCAA tournament team, Keatts added 10 new players to the roster. Eleven of the 13 players on the roster are available to play this season (forward Sacha Killeya-Jones, a transfer from Kentucky, has to sit out and freshman forward Manny Bates will redshirt with a shoulder injury).

Ideally, Keatts said, there will be a 10-man rotation. The lineup will be guard-heavy. Junior point guard Markell Johnson, who led the ACC in assists (7.4), returns as does sophomore guard Braxton Beverly, who was one of the team’s best 3-point shooters and averaged 9.5 points per game.

Senior Torin Dorn, who excelled in a “stretch 4” type role last season (13.9 ppg, 6.3 rebounds per game), is the only other returning veteran.

Transfer guards Devon Daniels (Utah) and C.J. Bryce (UNCW) will be counted on to provide scoring. Sophomore Blake Harris, a transfer from Missouri, is another option at the point. Eric Lockett, a grad transfer from Florida International, and Jericole Hellems, a freshman, are more scoring options on the wing.

Although, Keatts isn’t big on labels or traditional roles.

“We will not play conventional basketball this year,” Keatts said.

Which is really the direction the game, from rec-ball level to the NBA, has gone recently. Credit (or blame) the Golden State Warriors for the “positionless” basketball trend.

Even with veteran bigs available, Keatts went with a four-guard lineup (with Dorn at the “4”) in long stretches last season.

With forward Omer Yurtseven’s decision to transfer to Georgetown, and the loss of forwards Lennard Freeman and Abdul-Malik Abu, Keatts will probably stick with a four-guard lineup.

Wyatt Walker, a grad transfer from Samford, led the Southern Conference in rebounding two years ago. Freshman Ian Steere and junior-college transfer D.J. Funderburk will also get a chance to help in the middle.

Versatility will be a hallmark for this team.

“We have a lot of guys who can play a lot of different positions,” Dorn said.

With so many new faces on the roster, there will be an adjustment for the players, Keatts and the fans. But more bodies should equal more speed and a deeper lineup.

“It should be a fun year,” Keatts said.

This story was originally published September 24, 2018 at 5:30 PM.