Keatts is back.

Gibson and Hayes are not back.

Thomas Allen is not back. Safe to assume Hellems is leaving also.

Scholarship limit of 12 next year. So as of now we’d be looking at

FR - LJ Thomas, Shawn Phillips
SO - Breon Pass, Baby T, Ernest Ross
JR - Seabron, Douwona, Greg Gantt (assuming he gets medical RS)
SR - Morsell, Bates

Obviously Bates and Seabron are in doubt. And pretty much nothing would be surprising as far as more transfers out. But if the above holds, we’d have 2 open scholarships for transfers or incoming freshmen.

3/16/2022 5:58:51 PM

Seabron please develop a jump shot this offseason and Smith please play even better than your nice freshman year. You are our only hope!

3/19/2022 7:24:38 PM

Another 20+ loss season incoming.

3/19/2022 7:54:50 PM

Not necessarily. Maybe we'll have a COVID-shortened season and won't play 20 games.

3/19/2022 8:51:17 PM

I’ll admit, I’ve been pretty apathetic with the team for the last year but wasn’t Bates very close to not coming back before the start of last season? What’s the optimism that he’ll come back next year?

3/19/2022 9:26:38 PM

The hope would be that the NBA wants to see him healthy for a season. But…yeah. This year was expected to be his last. Maybe the injury and need to prove his health makes him want to come back.

3/19/2022 9:41:00 PM

I am intrigued by an offense centered around a Seabron/Bates pick and roll. Wish we could have seen it this year. Hopefully will see it next year.

3/19/2022 9:59:04 PM

I would put very heavy odds against Bates being drafted but who knows

3/19/2022 11:21:08 PM

Yeah, next year Bates is either playing overseas or, best case, G League, if he doesn't come back

3/19/2022 11:40:32 PM

Or at Georgetown

3/20/2022 1:04:40 AM

https://www.backingthepack.com/2022/3/19/22986907/5-star-guard-robert-dillingham-decommits-from-nc-state

3/20/2022 8:57:59 AM

Iowa State went from an 0-18 conference record last season to making the Sweet 16 just now

3/20/2022 8:37:07 PM

KKIAL

3/20/2022 10:18:38 PM

NC STATE FIRES BASKETBALL COACH......





....es, Assistant

Quote :

"NC State has let go of Mike Summey and Roy Roberson following the 2021-22 season. The two assistants are the first released by the Wolfpack during the Kevin Keatts era. https://t.co/iJHYIhCdL0"

3/21/2022 10:01:24 AM

I think fans welcome any staff shake ups and roster shake ups in an effort to right the ship. But I do wonder what a staff shake up even does in basketball. In football you have so many coaches and coordinators, that I think firing coordinators and stuff makes a real difference. But in basketball, how much of a difference will it make? Especially for a coach like KK that seems pretty set in his offensive and defensive styles. Assistant coaches can definitely help in recruiting, of course.

tldr, I welcome change. I’m not overly optimistic that it’ll make much difference with Xs and Os.

3/21/2022 11:07:42 AM

It will be interesting to see who they get to replace them. If they bring on at least one good X and Os guy and Keatts actually allow him to help shape the team/system then I would be optimistic.

The impression I get is that even if we had stellar assistants on board, he wouldn't change his philosophy or program much so this seems like no more than rearranging deck chairs on the titanic.

3/21/2022 11:25:36 AM

It also seems fair to ask, what good/proven assistant is going to come here for a potentially lame duck HC?

3/21/2022 12:27:23 PM

K and Roy

3/21/2022 1:02:03 PM

Quote :

"But I do wonder what a staff shake up even does in basketball. "

If only there was a notable example of this happening at this very university. Like if a head coach failed to make the NCAA tournament for 5 years, then hired a new assistant who revamped the offense and then made 5 straight NCAA tournaments. If only.

3/22/2022 6:41:12 AM

Right. Not saying it’s never happened. But it’s far more common in football where some head coaches seem to be less hands on with play calling on one or both sides of the ball. I might be very wrong, but two assistants have come and gone already in KK’s tenure and his offensive and defensive styles haven’t changed. I hope to be proven wrong. Hopefully there’s a willingness to change.

3/22/2022 7:36:52 AM

0-2 on my K joke, I'll throw it out a few more times just to be sure

3/22/2022 8:53:51 AM

I'd throw it out again for you, but the only response it would get is justin###s arguing with me about whether or not K wears boxers or briefs.

3/22/2022 9:03:25 AM

A legitimate concern would be how do Roy and K work together on a staff. Would egos get in the way?

(There you go, rwoody)

3/22/2022 9:08:18 AM

Wow sympathy laughs, my favorite kind! This sounds sarcastic but it isn't its real.

3/22/2022 9:29:58 AM

When we play Carolina next season, would Roy give a shit about gameplanning against them?

3/22/2022 7:08:57 PM

Any updates on Seabron, Smith, and Bates coming back next year?

3/25/2022 12:49:47 PM

They're all transferring to Georgetown

3/25/2022 1:24:13 PM

Ewing a good ass recruiter

3/26/2022 2:31:01 AM

Coworker sat next to a guy on an airplane who claimed he had just signed Terquavion and was his agent. Thought that seemed odd, but ya know, sources.

3/29/2022 8:19:47 AM

Keatts is going with the big brain play for men's bball since 2020. You can't experience massive disappointment and get hosed by the NCAA in the postseason if you don't even get close.

3/29/2022 8:45:12 AM

Sounds like we’re doing the will he/won’t he thing again with Bates potentially transferring.

I would fully expect T to test the waters. Feels like it’s way too early to sign with an agent though. I sorta doubt that he already has. But idk

3/29/2022 8:57:54 AM

Bates is (supposedly) transferring.

Smith and Seabron are testing NBA waters, Smith likely gone to NBA.


Some potential assitants: Levi Watkins, Frank Haith, Joe Dooley, Alan Petty

3/29/2022 10:36:24 AM

HAHAHAHAHA FUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKK

3/29/2022 10:46:35 AM

https://insidepacksports.com/s/9045/manny-bates-will-enter-the-transfer-portal



i didn't really expect him back, but a transfer? What a clown show

[Edited on March 29, 2022 at 10:58 AM. Reason : d]

3/29/2022 10:47:20 AM

Wow... this is totally out of left field for me. Real gut punch.

3/29/2022 11:08:29 AM

Can’t really blame any player for transferring. We suck. The future doesn’t look promising. If they wanna play meaningful games, this probably ain’t the place to do that.

All along I’ve been fine with giving KK another year given the circumstances. But that’s kinda been under the assumption that the roster would be improved next year. That doesn’t appear to be the case. Idk where the Baby T definitely going pro rumors are coming from (may be true, but I haven’t seen anything remotely definitive other than “test the waters”). But either way, next year looks bleak.

Oh well.

3/29/2022 11:18:57 AM

I'm not really sure why this news would surprise anyone. He had one foot out the door before last year and he wasn't gonna go pro.

3/29/2022 11:19:49 AM

welp another year my season tickets will be on hold.

3/29/2022 11:24:33 AM

I guess what’s surprising is that he didn’t leave sooner since he was on the bench on all year. But yeah, I agree. Not shocking. Felt like he likely wouldn’t be back in 2022 anyways…just assumed in the preseason that he’d be in the pros.

3/29/2022 11:36:35 AM

Why leave earlier though? He's getting shoulder rehab and can still play anywhere next year no matter if he leaves in December or now. Leaving earlier also probably limits his destinations because of scholarship limits.

3/29/2022 12:09:12 PM

I sure hope Smith doesn’t leave, then I will be really down on next year.

3/29/2022 12:13:57 PM

You are right. He has little to gain by announcing the decision earlier.

But it doesn’t change the way I feel, Justin

3/29/2022 12:14:51 PM

I just read the article which said Bates will likely get a big NIL deal. Does that mean we need Bojangles or someone to give him a big deal to stay? What if we name a sandwich after him??

3/29/2022 12:16:26 PM

Isn't ADIDAS giving like 50K to top stars? Surely that includes him?

3/29/2022 1:17:34 PM

Quote :

"Can’t really blame any player for transferring. We suck. The future doesn’t look promising. If they wanna play meaningful games, this probably ain’t the place to do that."

This is exactly why KK should have been gone. It's a sinking ship and only delaying the inevitable to keep him. You can't expect an improved roster when there is literally no reason for a good player to be here next year. Keeping a lame-duck coach only works if you can keep the roster and add a significant piece or two. But we are basically starting a complete rebuild at this point. It's not too late. Hire an up and coming flyer with a short contract and wait for good candidates to become available next season if they don't show any promise. If we had any experienced assistants left, letting them be interim would be the move.

At this point, I am expecting our returning roster to be Morsell, Ebe, Ross, Pass, and some half-assed transfers. Seabron may as well get his European career going and Smith should train and improve in the G-league.

^Adidas isn't giving shit to our mens bball athletes who won't be helping their exposure or seeing them in the postseason

[Edited on March 29, 2022 at 1:29 PM. Reason : d]

3/29/2022 1:27:51 PM

A guy looking to transfer for one or two seasons may not care about a lame duck staff. There are plenty of guys looking to transfer somewhere for a season, get plenty of PT and play at a P5 level. There’s no guarantee KK is able to land any of those guys. But they’re out there.

Plenty of time for the roster to shake out. Of course it’ll look way different than last year and there’s a good chance it’s no better than last year’s roster.

As Justin said, it was wishful thinking to think Bates would be here in 2022-23 anyways. I assume those rumors of his return may have even been started by the staff to generate some sort of momentum for the coming year. It’s disappointing that the program is where it is but things can turn around very quickly in college basketball.

I think giving KK another year given Covid and the NCAA stuff is perfectly reasonable. I also think all the frustration around the MBB program is perfectly valid too

[Edited on March 29, 2022 at 1:39 PM. Reason : G]

3/29/2022 1:36:17 PM

Sure given those things in a vacuum giving him another year is perfectly reasonable. But to what end? So we can watch the team be shitty for another year and start a complete rebuild that he isn't gonna be part of long term? Even the fans with the most positive outlook towards Keatts can admit that we are gonna be dogshit next year now that we have 3 transfers out and probably more players leaving on the way. And the chance that we finish outside of the bottom third of the ACC is tiny--much less make any sort of postseason-- is tiny. Which means he needs at least another two years to accomplish any sort of positive momentum going forward starting with an excellent '23 recruiting class. Oh yeah, we just lost the prized recruit for that class. I just don't see any positives to keeping him except if we just want to do him a solid because we are nice like that.

Might as well rip the bandaid off.

3/29/2022 2:08:53 PM

Let's continue to pay another coach to not coach.

3/29/2022 2:21:49 PM

^thats a pretty good reason. A basketball rebuild can happen quickly. So I don’t know that it does a ton of long term damage to keep a losing coach around for one more year.

Look, if KK is fired tomorrow I won’t be upset. I’m no longer any kind of ardent KK defender. But it does seem perfectly reasonable to give him another year. As we sit today, Bates is gone. Which we all assumed would be the case when the 2021-22 season started. Gibson and Hayes are both gone - those two proved to be bad at basketball, so I’m not really upset about about them leaving. Seabron is likely gone - he’s 4 years removed from HS, wasn’t hard to see that happening. And T might stay or he might not, it’s clearly too soon to say.

KK is gonna have a chance to totally reconstruct what was a bad roster. We sucked this year and 2 bad players are gone. And 1 guy that played like 50 seconds is gone. I get that things don’t feel great right now, but maybe it’s not as doom and gloom as some seem to think. Let’s see what the roster looks like in September and go from there.

3/29/2022 3:17:05 PM

Based on what we saw this year it looks like we’re paying KK to not coach already.

3/29/2022 4:39:10 PM