A lot of points, one fancy shirt: NC State cruises past Chowan in hoops dress rehearsal

It was easy to be distracted, or at least confused, by Kevin Keatts’ dress shirt on Monday.

With vertical, black and white stripes, Keatts kind of looked like a fourth referee for N.C. State’s 111-62 exhibition win over Chowan.

“It’s not a referee’s shirt but I was trying to make peace with the referees by wearing this shirt,” Keatts joked.

Sartorial decisions were at the forefront in the post-game after a deep Wolfpack team had its way with the Division II neighbor to the east. N.C. State had five players score in double-figures, led by 22 from sophomore guard Devon Daniels, and Keatts used 10 players early and often.

“I wanted to play a lot of combinations,” Keatts said. “I wanted to see how guys played together. I wanted us to get out in transition.”

Check and check.

Daniels led a wave of newcomers, eight who are eligible and healthy this season and Keatts’ second N.C. State looked more like his NCAA teams at UNC-Wilmington.

Keatts has said he wants to run more and press more this season. He will have plenty of options and one more when sophomore guard Braxton Beverly returns from a hand injury.

Daniels, a transfer from Utah, is clearly going to be one of the best players on the team. The 6-5, 200-pound sophomore has a soft outside touch and an aggressive streak to attack the basket.

Daniels hit a corner 3 at 7:14 in the first half. He hit a 3 from the left elbow with 6 seconds left in the half and then turned toward the student section and stuck his tongue out and gave a head bob to celebrate.

“We know as a team, we can play as hard as we can,” Daniels said. “Coach is going to take us out but he’s going to put us back in.”

Wyatt Walker, who had five rebounds and five assists, and spindly DJ Funderbunk (20 points) answered the obvious question about who will play in the middle for this team without Omer Yurtseven, Malik Abu or Lennard Freeman.

Funderburk, who is listed at 6-10 and 210 pounds, is all arms and legs and has a soft jumper. He made all seven of his field goals, including a 3.

Freshman Jericole Hellems is another intriguing option on the wing. Built in the same mold as Daniels (6-7, 198 pounds), Hellems had a nice sequence in the first half. He popped in a 3 at 14:18 and then drew a charge on Chowan’s ensuing possession.

“He really shoots it,” Walker said of the freshman from St. Louis. “He strokes it. He works on it every day. He’s in there early and after practice shooting it. He gets after it in the weight room, too.”

Keatts already knows what he has in junior guard Markell Johnson, who led the ACC in assists last season, and versatile senior Torin Dorn. Johnson gave a little reminder with nine points and six assists. He had a steal and dunk at 15:21 in the second half. Senior Torin Dorn had an efficient 11 points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes.

N.C. State finished with 15 steals and 34 points off turnovers. Keatts also noted the team had 53 “deflections” (the team goal is 40 per game).

“That’s kind of how we want to play,” Keatts said.

The Wolfpack opens the regular season on Nov. 6 against Mount St. Mary’s. No early word on what Keatts’ shirt choice will be.

“Anybody let me know if they want one of these shirts,” Keatts joked as he left his press conference.

This story was originally published October 29, 2018 at 8:57 PM.