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Glad this came a season earlier than I expected

3/9/2025 11:06:28 AM

Holy shit

Kinda wish he had waited til tomorrow but I guess better to rip that band aid off

Btw truly truly thanks for the memories, last season was magic

(new page new post)

3/9/2025 11:08:33 AM

Damn. Really figured he had earned an extra year. But I totally get the move.

Forever grateful for last year’s run. I never thought I’d live to see it. Keatts gets eternal +cred for doing what he did last year. Moving on is a fine decision. I don’t think it’ll matter a ton either way until we are able to be more competitive with our financial commitment. If this move sparks a greater financial commitment from fans and admin then that’s a great thing. If it doesn’t change much, then I kinda doubt results will change much.

I never felt conflicted at all with other coach firings. And I don’t actually feel bad for KK…his bank account will help console him. But I do feel a little conflicted. IMO he’s a Wolfpack legend for hanging two banners.

3/9/2025 11:12:31 AM

^^agreed about magic run. Being in person to see them beat Duke in the Elite 8 is one of best moments of my life

[Edited on March 9, 2025 at 11:14 AM. Reason : ^pretty much agree 100%. I figured he'd get another year. But glad he didn't]

3/9/2025 11:12:56 AM

Keatts statement was interesting. Basically said that State will thrive when the resources are improved

3/9/2025 11:21:45 AM

Figured he would get one more season but he has had plenty of time and other than a miracle run didn’t produce much. Nice guy but was probably time to move on.

3/9/2025 11:46:50 AM

8 Million buyout.

I guess WPC shakedown emails start tomorrow.

3/9/2025 11:49:48 AM

His lows were really low. That was his biggest problem. Made the tourney 3/7 years which isn’t great but the banners should have been enough to overcome a missed tourney this year. But can’t afford to completely bottom out like he did this year and the 21-22 year

3/9/2025 11:53:59 AM

Unless the NIL budget is significantly increased we could hire brad stevens and it wouldnt really matter.

Quote :

"Kinda wish he had waited til tomorrow but I guess better to rip that band aid off"

And yeah this is incredibly poor timing for this. Could have waited until tomorrow at least and not hours before the women's acc championship game. Kinda bush league

3/9/2025 12:20:59 PM

Quote :

"8 Million buyout. I guess WPC shakedown emails start tomorrow."

These buyouts aren't nearly as bad as they sound because they're paid out over the remaining years on the contract. It isn't an 8mil hit on this year's budget. Its more like 2 mil for the next 4 years (or something like that -- I forget the exact breakdown on his). Major athletic departments these days pretty much just carry these expenses as a cost of doing business. There's a good chance he gets another job paying more per year anyway, so we may never even pay him a dime. Also, the bump from a decent hire can easily cover the cost with new revenue (especially if they are good enough to win games in the NCAA tourney). Either way, the buyout isn't an issue.

The shakedown is gonna be for a giant ass NIL pot, not to pay the old coach.


[Edited on March 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM. Reason : .]

3/9/2025 2:45:26 PM

Quote :

"The shakedown is gonna be for a giant ass NIL pot, not to pay the old coach."

yeah, they are already hitting the people who signed up after LTR ended, eventually they will try to find a workaround for the LTR, even though contracts stated they pretty much cant (extra donations for football parking location is just the beginning)

3/9/2025 4:29:39 PM

Oh they will find a workaround. They've done it before.

3/9/2025 5:07:39 PM

I figure we will have required donations to the basketball parking coming next, probably followed by them trying to add "required donations" for your location to football and basketball tickets (like they are already doing to non-LTR football now)

I know several long term LTR high rollers are lawyers, maybe they will at least fight the good fight, because pre-2019 contracts specifically say if you make your gift and buy your season tickets, they can't ever require more (probably just raise those significantly as well)

All in the name of "NIL makes us better'

Basically: Shitshow is coming

3/9/2025 6:25:24 PM

NIL is destroying college sports.

3/10/2025 10:53:16 AM

I would say the NCAA ruined it by so steadfastly sticking to a broken amateurism model. Fans footing the bill for player compensation while the schools get all the revenue from tv deals and ticket sales is a very broken system. NIL, to me, is a symptom of a greater problem. Make the players employees.

3/10/2025 11:04:19 AM

I agree with all that as well.

3/10/2025 12:30:44 PM

Who are the top 5 Keatts era players?


Does Braxton make the list?

3/13/2025 2:08:50 PM

In no real order….

T
Burns
Horne
Joiner
Seabron or Markell

Markell probably gets my vote but Seabron did actually have a cup of coffee in the NBA. Pretty sure list of recent State guys to get NBA minutes.

3/13/2025 2:39:02 PM

Quote :

"Does Braxton make the list?"

Hahahahahaha


Hahahahahahahaha


Was this a serious question?


As far as serious responses, i think Al Freeman and Devon Daniels definitely deserve discussion. Players who are easily ahead of Beverly: DJ Funderburk, Manny Bates, Jericole Hellems, CJ Bryce. And that's not counting somebody like Torin Dorn who was (like Markell) a holdover from the previous coach.

3/13/2025 3:18:17 PM

^^this is Al Freeman erasure

3/13/2025 3:22:19 PM

I hear you on Freeman. The game vs UNC alone (wasnt he 7/7 on 3s?) should probably put him on the list.

Horne, Burns, and T feel like locks. Markell was always one of my personal favorites but I could be talked out of him. Joiner was a baller but since he and Freeman were both here just 1 year…I could give the nod to Freeman over Joiner maybe.

3/13/2025 4:19:35 PM

Top 5 players of the Keatts era:

Braxton Beverly
Wyatt Walker
Danny Dixon
Ebenezer Dowuona
Blake Harris

6th man: MOC

3/13/2025 4:35:18 PM

Ian Steere erasure

[Edited on March 13, 2025 at 4:38 PM. Reason : Blake Harris is a good pull]

3/13/2025 4:37:59 PM

Yeah ian steere and nick farrar just missed the cut

3/13/2025 4:40:32 PM

PI!!11

https://packinsider.com/2025/03/13/assessing-the-best-players-of-the-kevin-keatts-era-1st-team-all-keatts/

Quote :

"Guard: Markell Johnson Guard: Terquavion Smith Guard: DJ Horne Guard: Dereon Seabron Forward: DJ Burns"

[Edited on March 13, 2025 at 4:49 PM. Reason : ]

3/13/2025 4:47:53 PM

If we factor in the chronic underutilization of big-men....I feel like Yurtseven and Diarra deserve some 2nd team love or something.

3/13/2025 4:53:00 PM

Yurtseven probably belongs on my "better than Beverly" list. I shied away from Gottfried guys, but he deserves a mention. Diarra is a weird case for me, especially since he was only here for a year. He was basically a one-dimensional player until the middle of February. Good defender who was excellent at defensive rebounding but only scored in double figures in his first game and then not again until february 10th. He then scored 10+ in 9 out of the final 18 games. Hard for me to put him in my top 10 for a half-season of being really good. Still better than Beverly tho.

3/13/2025 5:35:36 PM

^ a lot of Diarra's low scoring though was b/c Keatts kept inexplicably lowering his minutes. Dude averaged a double, double in 24.5 mpg his first two games. Then averaged like 7 minutes a game the next 4 games before playing 35 minutes and going for 18 reb, 8 pts against BC (on the road no less). Then he averaged about 5 minutes a game the next 4 games after that.

3/13/2025 8:00:41 PM

I bet KJ Keatts would've averaged a double double playing 25 minutes a game against a no name Jesus school and a military college that's had like 1 winning season in the past couple of decades

3/13/2025 8:30:43 PM

3/15/2025 9:13:27 PM