‘I like where our team is at.’ Wolfpack ready to jump into ACC play at Notre Dame
N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts flashed a smile when the question was asked:
Do you have too many players on this year’s team?
Keatts responded quickly and predictably.
“I don’t think any coach in the country is going to tell you that,” Keatts said, smile still in place. “No, I don’t have too many players.”
But Keatts understood the nature of the question. At a time when many college basketball teams are settling into set rotations heading into conference play, Keatts still is tinkering a bit. It’s a nice problem to have, yes, but there are only so many minutes available.
The Pack, in its 9-3 start, has 10 players who are averaging more than 11 minutes a game.That includes Kam Woods and MJ Rice, who did not play initially this season but are playing now and hoping for bigger roles – and more playing time – as the season moves on
The Wolfpack won its first ACC game, going to Boston College on Dec. 2 and beating the Eagles 84-78 in overtime. That was before Woods and Rice played their first games.
The Pack is at Notre Dame on Wednesday as ACC action quickly heats up in the new year. Then come home games against Virginia and North Carolina.
In its final nonconference game of the season, the Pack topped Detroit Mercy – then and now winless – 83-66 at PNC Arena on Dec. 23. Keatts had DJ Horne, Jayden Taylor, DJ Burns, Casey Morsell and Dennis Parker Jr. as his starters, but had eight players log more than 17 ½ minutes.
Morsell, having an off night shooting, was in for 13:38. Guard Michael O’Connell, the transfer from Stanford, had 26 minutes and tied Horne with a team-high six assists in the Dec. 23 game.
“I’ve got a lot of guys who are starting to buy into that role,” Keatts said after the game. “The minutes today are kind of like I want them – playing a guy like DJ Burns for 20 minutes and then finding the hot guy and keeping them on the floor.
“DJ Horne was at 29 and Michael played well at 26. I kind of like having a bunch of guys around 18/19 to 22 a game. It makes our system effective.”
When the Pack quickly fell behind 9-2. Keatts ordered up a 30-second timeout. Out came Taylor, Burns, Morsell and Parker. In came Woods, Rice, O’Connell and Ben Middlebrooks.
“I needed energy,” Keatts said.
Keatts got it. Horne hit a 3-pointer and Middlebrooks had a jam off an O’Connell pass. Horne kept making shots and Middlebrooks, from the high post, fed Rice for a high-rise jam to get the crowd going.
Middlebrooks, who finished with 11 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes, is the guy who came to State in the “trade” with Clemson for Jack Clark as both forwards transferred after last season. Such is the new normal for college sports and Middlebrooks has settled in nicely.
“Thankfully the team has made it easy for me,” Middlebrooks said. “We’ve got so many new guys on the team that it has made it easy. I mean, it has taken some time for all of us to figure each other out, figure out each other’s personality and how they play and things like that. But every game it gets better and I’m looking forward to seeing how we keep progressing.”
If Keatts is looking for energy, Middlebrooks is his guy. The 6-11 junior comes into the game looking to make things happen and gives the Pack another big body effective enough to take away some of the strain on Burns.
In the ACC/SEC Challenge game at Mississippi, where a travel weary Pack took a 20-point beating, Middlebrooks was the exception with 13 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks in 22 minutes. It was his first career double-double.
Middlebrooks said Keatts “gives me a lot of freedom to do what I want to do” while noting the coach expects the same kind of fire and enthusiasm from him at practice.
“I am a little bit of an older guy. I’m a junior who has been playing in the ACC for three years,” Middlebrooks said. “He emphasizes things off the court, like trying to lead the guys at practice and bring energy when the team feels dead. Things like that.”
Middlebrooks appears to understand his role, his place on the team. Horne is the Pack’s leading scorer and constant 3-point threat. Morsell is steady. DJ Burns is DJ Burns.
Where does everyone else fit? A lot of guys want to play but how will the minutes be distributed? The answers should start coming quickly as ACC games stack up.
“I like where our team is,” Keatts said. “I like our mentality. I like the way we’re scrappy, like the way we’re playing.”
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 11:47 AM.
