NC State has bought into playing like the team it could have been all season. What’s next?
Two weeks ago in PNC Arena N.C. State guard Braxton Beverly was flat on his face, wincing in pain as his back and hip continued to give him problems.
The image of him planted on the floor was almost a symbol of what the Wolfpack’s season was shaping up to be. After a 16-point loss to the Blue Devils on Feb. 13, it looked like Duke had broken N.C. State.
The Pack had dropped four of their last five and were without injured senior guard Devon Daniels for the remainder of the season. Young guards weren’t playing well. The last-minute absence of D.J. Funderburk in the game at Syracuse and his limited playing times late in games led to speculation there was tension within the team.
At the time, it looked like another season would end with N.C. State not playing in the postseason. Some questioned if Kevin Keatts was in fact a winner and the right man for the job.
Then something clicked.
Since that dreadful performance against the Blue Devils, the Pack has won three in a row. The team’s most impressive win — and perhaps the best in Keatts’ time at N.C. State — was a 68-61 road victory over No. 15 Virginia Wednesday night.
N.C. State (11-9, 7-8 ACC) jumped over the Cavaliers out of the gate, appearing less like the team that looked overmatched against Duke and more like the team that people expected with Keatts’ deepest roster ever.
Wolfpack’s NCAA tournament chances
The Wolfpack has gotten back to forcing turnovers at a high rate (13.6 per game) and Jericole Hellems has filled the scoring void left by Daniels (13 ppg) over the same stretch. The freshman guards — Shakeel Moore, Cam Hayes, Dereon Seabron — grew up quickly, each playing a major role in each of the last three wins.
Moore came off the bench to score 12 against Virginia; Hayes has scored in double figures in each of the last three games; Seabron had a career-high 14 against Wake Forest on Feb. 20. Even Beverly, who hasn’t practiced and can’t sit down when he isn’t playing, put together two good games in a row after the Duke loss.
Everyone has a part to play and they’ve played it well.
“We bought in,” Keatts told the media after the win over Virginia. “Our guys locked in after that game (versus Duke) and we knew that we were better than the way we played.”
N.C. State still has some work to do if they want to play beyond the ACC tournament, but trending in the right direction in late February is a good sign. A win over a team with a No. 9 NET ranking looks good on the Wolfpack’s NCAA tournament resume, but there is still work to be done.
On Sunday, the Pack hosts Pittsburgh, a team they defeated by one eight days ago, before traveling to Notre Dame on March 3. They close out the regular season at home versus Virginia Tech, a team at No. 50 in the net rankings.
Those are three winnable games, needed to boost the Wolfpack’s NCAA chances and give it some life headed into the ACC tournament. If the ACC tournament started today, N.C. State would be the No. 9 seed and would need to win the whole thing (an improbable challenge) to move on in March. In a weird year where nothing is normal, could the Pack pull off what seems impossible?
The help from the freshmen
Want to know what Keatts meant by buy-in from his team? He said to simply look at N.C. State’s bench against UVA.
Players were up and engaged, cheering for their teammates on the floor. Nobody cared who got the credit, Keatts said, everyone was truly happy for the next guy up. That’s the sign that they are building a good team, Keatts pointed out.
“It’s a mindset,” Keatts said. “If you don’t believe that you’re not good, then you’re not good. I’ve asked them all to grow up quicker than they needed to.”
That term relates to the rapid improvement of Hayes, Moore and Seabron. During the last few weeks, Keatts has started to do something in practice he normally doesn’t this time of year. He has four-minute periods of game simulation, where he allows the freshmen to make their mistakes and learn from them. That way when it’s game time, they’ve corrected the errors and can play freely.
Hayes has looked like a completely different player the last three weeks, calmly knocking down two free throws to seal the win over Pitt or banking in a late three-pointer, the final dagger against the Cavaliers. Keatts can now trust him with the ball to lead the team.
“I feel like it’s just my confidence,” Hayes said. “Me just believing in myself more.”
Hayes has had big moments late in two of the last three close wins, and that takes the pressure off of Beverly, who doesn’t play as many minutes with his injury. Junior guard Thomas Allen has also missed the last three games with a lower-body injury. The difference in this time of year is Keatts has more faith in Hayes and Moore with the ball in their hands.
“I think we’ve grown a lot,” Moore said. “Each game we’re out there, as coach says, we are getting better by the half. That experience we are gaining gives the confidence in us to be there for the team and step up.”
The return of DJ Funderburk
It’s impossible to overlook the return of Funderburk and his role in the last month of the season.
The senior forward from Cleveland had 14 points against Virginia, part of the reason the Wolfpack outscored the Wahoos 30-16 in the paint.
Funderburk is one of the most important players on the roster for Keatts. At 6-10 and 225 pounds, Funderburk can score around the rim, obviously, but has the ability to knock down long jumpers and runs the floor well, making it easy to score in transition. That’s why his presence was missed when the Wolfpack traveled to Syracuse on Jan. 31 and Funderburk was a scratch hours before tipoff due to “university policies.”
When he returned against Virginia at home on Feb. 3, Funderburk only scored nine points in 17 minutes. Since that game, however, he’s been on a tear. He’s scored in double figures in six straight games and is averaging 13.3 points. Keatts has started Funderburk alongside 6-11 Manny Bates for four straight games, and the results have been favorable.
While Bates remains a solid presence on the defensive end of the floor, teams now have to deal with two bigs on the offensive end, allowing Funderburk to flourish. Points have come in bunches, but his biggest change may be that he’s now the older voice players listen to now that Daniels isn’t around.
“Over the years I’ve learned a couple of things and I’ve passed it along to the younger guys,” Funderburk said. “They respect that and they listen to me.”
During this stretch run, Funderburk is having the most fun he’s had since he’s been in Raleigh.
“For me, I just realized it’s coming to an end,” Funderburk said. “I’m just trying to have as much fun as possible and leave it out there because I can’t get it back after this.”
