Wolfpack Have their guy

[TKG]

ESPN/TMZ reporting that State has hired Kevin Keatts of UNC-Wilmington.

[chrishoke]

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/18935743/nc-state-wolfpack-hire-kevin-keatts-coach

[wsb3]

Hate to see him leave UNCW but it was inevitable. Program was in shambles when he arrived & he did nothing but win.

Thanks for back to back appearances in the Tourney.

[JasonEvans]

ESPN/TMZ reporting that State has hired Kevin Keatts of UNC-Wilmington.

Really good hire. Supposedly Indiana wanted him but State pounced first. He has won everywhere he has gone and knows the ACC from his time as a Louisville assistant. He's young (44) and it won't hurt when he recruits that he is an African American coach -- not many of those in the ACC at the moment.

-Jason "obviously, time will tell, but I think this was a really good hire" Evans

[ipatent]

Don't know anything about him, but not a high budget hire.

[Troublemaker]

Really good hire. Supposedly Indiana wanted him but State pounced first. He has won everywhere he has gone and knows the ACC from his time as a Louisville assistant. He's young (44) and it won't hurt when he recruits that he is an African American coach -- not many of those in the ACC at the moment.

-Jason "obviously, time will tell, but I think this was a really good hire" Evans

Good hire, but Keatts has never been an assistant in the ACC. Louisville has only been in the league 3 years. (At least in basketball; not sure about other sports).

[Olympic Fan]

Don't know anything about him, but not a high budget hire.

Neither were Coach K, Dean Smith or Everett Case ... and they are the three best hires in ACC history.

Better Keatts than a retread like Crean, He is an impressive young coach who won two prep national titles at Hargrave Academy. He was on the Louisville staff when they won the 2013 national title -- and he had a lot to do with putting that team together. He was voted the nation's third best recruiting assistant in 2013.

He's done a great job at UNC W, both as a teacher and an x-and-o man. He's articulate and high energy.

This is a very good hire for Pack. There are no guarantees, but I like Keatts a lot better than Wade.

Now, Keatts first job is to recruit the team he inherits. State can be pretty good next year if Keatts can prevent defections. Anya graduates and Smith is going to go pro, but every other player on the roster can come back -- including Jay Henderson, who is eligible for a hardship year after missing the 2016 season with an injury. But Henderson, Abu, Yurtseven and several others are problematic. None of the three would have returned to play with Gottfried. Who knows whether Keatts can convince them to come back.

[sagegrouse]

Don't know anything about him, but not a high budget hire.

I'll be interested in seeing further stories on the hire, but Keatts would have had beaucoup offers -- no reason he should settle for a low-budget deal.

[brevity]

You could look at this as a lateral hire, in that Kevin Keatts remains in the state's public university system. I imagine his health benefits are unchanged. And his retirement should combine the years of employment by UNCW and NCSU. Has he already vested?

[Doria]

That's a great hire by State. And it makes sense for Keats, too. Hope it works out for both of them.

[Native]

I think State knocked this one out of the park. Quick and easy search, probably didn't spend the house on him, and he's got a pretty decent track record of success.

[throatybeard]

Sometime whoever seeks abroad may find / Thee sitting careless in New Hanover County / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind

[CDu]

This hire may or may not work out. But it was absolutely the right approach. Get a young up-and-comer and hope he is the answer. Don't bring in a retread.

Keatts doesn't have an easy job. But if things work out, he will be establishing himself just about the time that Williams and Coach K hang it up.

Good on State for getting it right for once. They were due.

[53n206]

Do you think they had him before firing Gottfried?

[ipatent]

Don't bring in a retread..

Retreads happen all the time in the corporate world, where experience and familiarity with an organization is generally a plus. In sports, that doesn't happen as much, as you are selling hope for a better future with the boosters and season ticket holders with a coaching change.

As far as putting State back in the position of a mid to higher finisher in the league with a good shot at making the field every year, will the typical up and comer have a better chance than bringing Herb back for another stint or hiring a big name coach?

[hallcity]

Don't know anything about him, but not a high budget hire.

Don't be so sure. I've read $2.2 million a year for 6 years. If accurate that puts him ahead of most ACC head coaches.

[PackMan97]

Do you think they had him before firing Gottfried?

No. The announcement for firing Gott was forced by the media. We would have given the usual "evaluate at the end of the season" BS that everyone else gives if we could have.

I really like his connections to Hargrave. I think that experience will really pay off in recruiting. Let's face it, with the talent tha Sendek, Lowe and Gott could get to Raleigh....if we combine that wth a real coach...maybe we can make the biggest rivalry State and Duke in 10 years when Collins takes over for K and The Cheats are nuked into the stone ages.

[CDu]

Retreads happen all the time in the corporate world, where experience and familiarity with an organization is generally a plus. In sports, that doesn't happen as much, as you are selling hope for a better future with the boosters and season ticket holders with a coaching change.

As far as putting State back in the position of a mid to higher finisher in the league with a good shot at making the field every year, will the typical up and comer have a better chance than bringing Herb back for another stint or hiring a big name coach?

There was zero chance they were going to get a big-name coach. Chasing and missing on the big names is what got them stuck with Whittenburg-which-turned-into-Lowe. It is what got them Gottfried. They appear to have finally learned from their mistakes.

Retreads in coaching is different than retreads in the business world. In coaching, a retread means getting a guy who failed at a previous stop. That is what they got with Gottfried and (to a lesser degree) Lowe.

There is no guarantee that Keatts will be the answer. But he is the right type of hire: up and coming, has had nothing but success as a head coach, has experience on staff of a blue blood program, good recruiter, marketable. He checks all the boxes you could reasonably hope for.

[hallcity]

There was zero chance they were going to get a big-name coach. Chasing and missing on the big names is what got them stuck with Whittenburg-which-turned-into-Lowe. It is what got them Gottfried. They appear to have finally learned from their mistakes.

Retreads in coaching is different than retreads in the business world. In coaching, a retread means getting a guy who failed at a previous stop. That is what they got with Gottfried and (to a lesser degree) Lowe.

There is no guarantee that Keatts will be the answer. But he is the right type of hire: up and coming, has had nothing but success as a head coach, has experience on staff of a blue blood program, good recruiter, marketable. He checks all the boxes you could reasonably hope for.

Coach Cutt is a retread. How's he working out?

[FerryFor50]

Coach Cutt is a retread. How's he working out?

Not really. He didn't get fired and rehired multiple times.

[Indoor66]

No. The announcement for firing Gott was forced by the media. We would have given the usual "evaluate at the end of the season" BS that everyone else gives if we could have.

I really like his connections to Hargrave. I think that experience will really pay off in recruiting. Let's face it, with the talent tha Sendek, Lowe and Gott could get to Raleigh...if we combine that wth a real coach...maybe we can make the biggest rivalry State and Duke in 10 years when Collins takes over for K and The Cheats are nuked into the stone ages.

I don't know anything about him except what I have read here. That said, I commend State for making a bold hire. He may be a bust or he may be the next Coach K. At least State has a shot a glory. A retread gives you known failure.

[moonpie23]

i think it's a good hire.....if you can't get some big name coach, may as well get a good coach...

[ipatent]

It is tougher than ever for a promising young coach to come in and elevate an ACC program. The one and dones like established programs with connected coaches and most of the games televised. Could Coach K have signed Johnny Dawkins in today's environment? Even if he could, he couldn't build a program around him in one year and the chances of getting a similar talent to replace him the next year would be minimal. He would be gone like Dennis Smith.

Bennett is getting the job done with sheer coaching ability, but he is the exception to the rule. Look at the up and comers before him who failed. Pete Gillen was a rising star. Dave Leitao was expected to succeed Calhoun before the ACC ate him up.

[PackMan97]

It is tougher than ever for a promising young coach to come in and elevate an ACC program. The one and dones like established programs with connected coaches and most of the games televised. .

I think this is where Keattes with his experiences at Hargrave becomes a very interesting hire. He had in fact been coaching in a 1 and done environment with high school seniors. http://images.memes.com/meme/5215.jpgHeather that translates or not will be interesting, but he's at least experiencedit as a head coach and won two national championships using it.

[sagegrouse]

It is tougher than ever for a promising young coach to come in and elevate an ACC program. The one and dones like established programs with connected coaches and most of the games televised. Could Coach K have signed Johnny Dawkins in today's environment? Even if he could, he couldn't build a program around him in one year and the chances of getting a similar talent to replace him the next year would be minimal. He would be gone like Dennis Smith.

Bennett is getting the job done with sheer coaching ability, but he is the exception to the rule. Look at the up and comers before him who failed. Pete Gillen was a rising star. Dave Leitao was expected to succeed Calhoun before the ACC ate him up.

Your poster boys for star coaches who failed are Pete Gillen and Dave Leitao? Different personalities, but both head cases. Leitao was just a mistake; Gillen did well at Xavier because of his top assistant, Skip Prosser.

Actually, it seems easier to succeed with recruiting less than four-star talent because of the one-and-dones at schools like Duke. Surely you are impressed with Georgia Tech under Josh Pastner, age 39. And how about Buzz Wilkinson at Virginia Tech? Buzz is the same age as Keatts (44).

[Bob Green]

And how about Buzz Williams at Virginia Tech? Buzz is the same age as Keatts (44).

FIFY.

[Ima Facultiwyfe]

Sometime whoever seeks abroad may find / Thee sitting careless in New Hanover County / Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind

Throaty, you are SO deep. Bless your heart.
Love, Ima

[davekay1971]

I think this is a great hire for State. The more I read about this guy, the more I think that the Pack may have found a long term solution at coach. Compare this hire to Gottfried (fired from the Alabama job after a track record of strong start, then falling off, and...ahem...unfortunate on-campus circumstances) and to Lowe (Wolfpack great as a player and all-around nice guy, untested as a college coach, spotty track record as an NBA coach), both of whom were hired with big question marks and both of whom were most certainly, and very publicly, NOT NC State's first choices. With K and Roy, just based on age, likely to retire within the next 5 years, give or take, and with (I hope) the NCAA about to smite Mjolnir upon the Tarheels with great vengeance and fury, Keatts has the opportunity to try to build NC State back to equal footing in the triangle. And, if the Chris Collins does ultimately become the guy to take the reins from K, we could very well see Keatts and Collins play out a wonderful career-long rivalry...hopefully reducing UNC to what those cheatin' scum appear to have wanted to become: a 2nd tier academically corrupt football school.

[wavedukefan70s]

Good hire for the wolfpack.if they give him time to do his thing.

[throatybeard]

Throaty, you are SO deep. Bless your heart.
Love, Ima

Either that or I've read probably the most-anthologized poem in the English language...

(Or maybe it's Shax 73, whatever).

[Devil549]

great HIRE....we shall see.

He will be recruiting more talented players who usually don't like playing defense.....can they become Louisville-South.....if yes great hire.

Coach K does a great job of getting today's AAU born and bred players to play some defense but easier said than done.