Coach K and Hubert Davis are getting the attention, but at NC State, ‘our time is coming’
N.C. State basketball coach Kevin Keatts wants to make one thing perfectly clear: With Roy Williams gone and Mike Krzyzewski on his way out, he still won’t be the oldest ACC coach in the state.
“I’ve looked at that and thought about it for a long time,” Keatts told the News & Observer on Tuesday. “I will be the veteran coach, but I’m not the oldest. Hubert Davis (UNC) is older than me and when you extend it to the four ACC schools, I think Steve Forbes (Wake Forest) is older than me.”
Williams retired in April and Krzyzewski is on his farewell tour. No coach likes to look ahead, but in 2022-23, Keatts will be the elder statesman when it comes to Triangle basketball.
No, he hasn’t gotten Coach K a going away gift to take to Cameron Indoor Stadium on January 15. Also a good chance he won’t be sending a gift basket to Williams, who went 33-5 against the Wolfpack during his time in Chapel Hill.
“I’m happy for both Roy, who’s already retired,” Keatts said. “And Coach K. It’s hard to argue with what those two guys have done in their career for college basketball and the ACC. They’ve both been instrumental in pushing for college basketball to be the best.”
If there’s a chance to swing the hierarchy in Triangle basketball, it’s the future when the two hall of fame coaches with multiple championships and gold medals both hang it up.
N.C. State basketball has an identity across the college basketball landscape, but nothing to show for it since 1983. Having all eyes on Duke and UNC is nothing new to college basketball, but that scope will be magnified this season; year one for Davis, final year for K.
While that’s going on in Chapel Hill and Durham, Keatts is just fine with his guys going to work under the radar in Raleigh.
“I don’t think we’re forgotten,” Keatts said. “We’re N.C. State and our job is to compete and represent our university the right way. We have a tremendous program. It’s hard to ignore the way we play, our fan base and our tremendous university. Even though they do get a lot of credit, it doesn’t bother our guys because we know who we are and where we are trying to go with things.”
The Wolfpack went 14-11 last year, splitting their two contests with UNC and falling at home to Duke in their lone meeting. Keatts will get his final shot at Krzyzewski first, then two chances versus Davis, with the first one on Jan. 29.
N.C. State starts the season on Nov. 9 versus Bucknell.
‘Our time is coming’
Keatts, nor anyone in the country, can ignore what Williams did and Krzyzewski has done in college basketball.
N.C. State, under Keatts, is trying to return to its glory days.
The Wolfpack last won an ACC tournament title in 1987 and a regular season championship in 1989. The biggest roadblock has been right up the road. Since he’s been in Raleigh, Keatts has coached in the shadow of Williams and Krzyzewski, no easy task for any coach.
But the goal is to not worry so much about what’s happening down the road, but rather getting N.C. State back on track.
“I’m proud of the guys I fight with everyday,” Keatts said. “We sat out to be the best versions of ourselves. We have great history at N.C. State ourselves. Even though we don’t have recent history, we’ve got a couple of national championships, we have proud alumni. We don’t look at it as ‘hey, it’s those two guys, then it’s us.’ We’re successful ourselves.”
Keatts has an overall record of 79-47 at N.C. State, recording three consecutive 20-win seasons before last year.
He has led the team to three postseason trips, with two of those being NIT bids. There wasn’t a postseason in 2019-20, but many felt the team had a shot at the NCAA Tournament with a 20-12 record during the pandemic season.
With some roster turnover, mainly losing D.J. Funderburk and Devon Daniels, Keatts has to find some pieces to make up that scoring production. He welcomed in a top-25 recruiting class, plus a pair of transfers who should help right away.
But they are, due to proximity, looked at in the same light as Duke and UNC, and the expectations are the same.
Would it make a difference if they weren’t in the same neighborhood?
“I think we are who we are,” Keatts said. “Our time will come. We’ve had some obstacles since I’ve taken the job that we’ve had to overcome and are still fighting through, but our time will come.”
