Kevin Keatts won’t have to go too far from UNC Wilmington for his new job, as he’s been hired as the head coach of NC State, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.
Kevin Keatts hired as NC State’s next head coach, per report
Keatts will stay in state, but move into a bigger role.
Logan Bowles-USA TODAY Sports
UNC Wilmington gave Virginia a run for its money in the NCAA tournament before falling, 76-71. Keatts spent three years as the Seahawks’ coach, making the NCAA tournament in two of his three seasons. Prior to his tenure there, he was an assistant under Rick Pitino at Louisville.
He replaces Mark Gottfried, whom the Wolfpack fired just before the end of this season and then had coach out the final stretch of the year as a lame duck. Gottfried made NCAA tournaments in his first four years in Raleigh, after Sidney Lowe had gone 0-for-5 before Gottfried’s arrival. Things were going pretty well, even though Gottfried’s teams didn’t get any farther than the Sweet Sixteen.
Things broke bad in the last two seasons, though. NC State finished a hair under .500 both last year and this year. The team’s offense went from really good to only pretty good, and the defense progressively fell off a cliff over the two seasons. This year’s team ranked 226th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, which is a remarkably horrible spot for a team from the ACC.
Gottfried has a reputation as a capable recruiter, and he brought some good players to NC State. The most recent blue-chip was five-star guard Dennis Smith Jr., who joined the team this season and played well in a bad season for the team.
This is still a pretty good coaching job to get. The Wolfpack aren’t going to regularly recruit like in-state neighbors Duke and North Carolina, but they can get enough good players to win tournament games regularly. This year’s terrible team only had two senior rotation players, so a lot of talent should be back.
Keatts’ quick success and turnaround at UNCW should be a promising sign for Wolfpack fans. Coaching at NC State is undoubtedly a challenge with Duke and UNC as competitors in recording and on the hardwood, but Keatts may just be the man to help bring the Wolfpack back to prominence.
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