COLUMN: Kevin Keatts is a winner

After seven years, NC State men’s basketball head coach Kevin Keatts is officially a winner. 

The now-ACC championship-winning coach was doubted by countless Wolfpack fans heading into this season’s ACC Tournament. NC State was tasked with winning five games in five days to even qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Many people, myself included, did not believe it was possible — but Keatts and his team did, and that’s all that mattered. 

The Wolfpack entered the ACC Tournament on a four-game skid and finished 10th in the conference in the regular season. It would’ve been easy for the Pack to fold up shop and take an early exit. However, the Wolfpack took another path. The red-and-white chose to look at the opportunity ahead and asked a simple question — why not us?

Why couldn’t the Wolfpack win the ACC championship? Again, the easy answer is because NC State hadn’t done so in 37 years and the Wolfpack came in needing to win five tough games in a row. The Pack didn’t let this faze it. Instead, Keatts’ squad entered the tournament with a clean slate and complete control of its NCAA Tournament destiny. 

Not only did the Pack believe, but it also delivered. NC State found itself trailing ACC bottom-dweller Louisville at halftime. The red-and-white found a way to survive and advance despite the Cardinals’ Skyy Clark scorching the nets from deep all night. Awaiting NC State in its next game was Syracuse, who swept the Pack in the regular season. 

Everything was on the line for NC State against Syracuse. With offseason uncertainty abounding, the red-and-white played one of its best games of the season. After battling against the Orange for 20 minutes, the Wolfpack broke through in the second half and eviscerated Syracuse. 

Once in the ACC quarterfinals, and poised to take on a fresh Duke team with national title aspirations, almost everyone brushed off the Wolfpack. While NC State was dismissed as a threat, its season was still alive. No double-digit seed had advanced to the ACC semifinals since 2010, so surely this would be the end of the road for the red-and-white. However, Keatts and the Wolfpack had other plans.

NC State stunned its tobacco-road rival in the quarterfinals. At every point, Keatts knew who to have on the court to take and hold the lead. Managing a team that was playing its third game in three days, Keatts balanced a fine line between keeping players fresh and having the best lineups on the floor. For the first time in a long time, an NC State basketball coach outcoached a Duke basketball coach. 

The challenge only ramped up in the ACC semifinals, with NC State facing a physical, defensive-minded Virginia squad that had only played one game all week. Meanwhile, the Pack was on its fourth game in four days. Additionally, junior forward Mohamed Diarra was continuing to observe Ramadan, which meant he could not eat or drink all day. 

Once again, the Pack stayed in the game against a seemingly superior opponent and remained calm in the face of adversity. Down six with under a minute to play, Keatts helped his team remain composed and improbably tie the game to force overtime. 

Once in overtime, Keatts put on another coaching masterclass. The Pack identified a mismatch between graduate forward DJ Burns and Virginia’s Jordan Minor. The Wolfpack exploited the advantage as Burns racked up seven points in overtime alone. The Pack secured the win and faced its final challenge — none other than its most heated rival, UNC-Chapel Hill. 

By this point, the Wolfpack was rolling with an opportunity to not just salvage its season but to make it one for the history books. After a season where the roster never seemed to click, every player seemed to have a defined role. Burns was the focal point of the offense, scoring and distributing from the post. Diarra was tasked with protecting the paint and graduate guard DJ Horne was a microwave scorer. 

Keatts had turned a collection of individual talents and molded it into a connected team that was ready to compete for a championship. 

The Wolfpack started hot against the Tar Heels and seized a 10-point lead early. However, tired legs seemed to set in for NC State, and UNC stormed back to take the lead going into halftime. Trailing after seemingly everything had gone right, many teams would’ve thrown in the towel. After all, the Wolfpack had already made one of the most incredible runs in ACC Tournament history — but that wasn’t enough for NC State. 

Whatever was said in the locker room at halftime worked to perfection. Keatts again leaned on Burns to score in the paint as Horne picked up a questionable fourth foul that limited the Wolfpack’s offense. Keatts then trusted Horne down the stretch to avoid fouling and bring a spark to the court — and Horne delivered. At long last, NC State was atop the ACC as Keatts successfully guided NC State past North Carolina. 

While the road was difficult, Keatts proved his worth as a coach in this year’s ACC Tournament. Despite all the outside noise, the challenging opponents and the fatigue, Keatts steered the ship to the promised land. With everything on the line, Keatts put on a coaching masterclass and cemented his legacy at NC State as a champion.