Pack’s ‘Primetime’ proves to be good time for fans

N.C. State’s “Primetime with the Pack” was longer on entertainment than basketball Friday but that’s OK for a night. A good time was had by all at Reynolds Coliseum.

Wolfpack fans got a first look at Kevin Keatts’ men’s team and Wes Moore’s women’s squad, which both reached the NCAA Tournament last season. There was a dance contest between the teams -- the women won -- and a three-point shooting contest that showcased the shooting touch of the winner, Devon Daniels, the transfer from Utah.

A dunk contest had an impressive lineup of judges -- Phil Spence representing the Pack’s 1974 NCAA champions, Ernie Myers and Cozell McQueen from the 1983 champs and Ryan Held, the Wolfpack’s gold medalist in swimming from the 2016 Rio Olympics. No NCAA trophies with them but Held did bring his gold medal for all to see.

“It’s always fun to get out in front of the fans and let them meet the new guys on the team,” senior Torin Dorn said. “It was a blast.”

There were a lot to meet. Keatts has just three players back from a team that won 21 games and went 11-7 in the ACC -- Dorn, Markell Johnson and Braxton Beverly -- who must blend with such new guys as C.J. Bryce, Wyatt Walker and DJ Funderburk.

“Expect an exciting brand of basketball,” Keatts told the fans. “We’ll play a little faster than last year and hopefully you’ll enjoy what you see.”

Asked about the good and the bad of preseason practice, Keatts said, “Our good is we’re running a lot more, we’ve got a lot of interchangeable parts. The bad is we have no idea what we’re doing right now.”

Funderburk was the winner of the dunk contest although forward Ian Steere showed the most moxie. Steere, a 6-9, 261-pound freshman, had his father, Noah, a mountain of a man, stand in the lane and elevated over him.

Steere couldn’t convert on his first few tries, but with Keatts encouraging him he did go up and over his dad and get the last one to go down.

“Seeing Ian trying to dunk over his dad was the highlight,” Dorn said, smiling.

One pressure basketball moment was David Carter being selected from the crowd to take a couple of halfcourt shots for $10,000. Carter, a Wolfpack fan from Eden, was short on both.

“It was amazing, one of a kind,” Carter said of the experience. “I’ve never taken a shot for 10 grand.”

Dorn said a Wolfpack strength this season would be its versatility, which could offset a lack of experience in ACC games.

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

Moore’s women’s team finished 26-9 last season, going 11-5 in ACC games, and Moore reminded the fans the Pack was 16-2 at Reynolds. That included winning an NCAA regional at home to reach the Round of 16.

“No doubt about it, this is a great homecourt advantage,” Moore said. “It’s not because of the building, it’s because of you folks who fill this place up.”

Proceeds from “Primetime” will benefit the Hurricane Florence relief fund -- Keatts later tweeted $15,000 was raised -- and 11 first-responders during the hurricane from the Raleigh area were recognized to a standing ovation.

“Any time you can give back to the community it’s a blessing,” Dorn said. “It’s always good to give back.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2018 at 11:05 PM.