NC State Mens Basketball Previews 2023 Season: ACC Tipoff

CHARLOTTE, N.C – North Carolina State head coach Kevin Keatts a seven-year tenure with the Wolfpack continues to defend the home record 78-26 after his six years of coaching.

Kevin Keatts is looking to continue to lead his team as they have seven new transfers added to their roster. The men’s Wolfpack has an overall record of 113-79 going into the 2023-24 season which sets the pace. They strive to get a bit faster in their game when losing a well-known duo Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith.

 Coach speaks on not getting involved with looking too far into the future, focusing on the present when playing basketball, and knowing what he is up against. Being an “opportunity coach,”, there is hope that he can keep a high shooting guard through the players that he has right now.

 “I have no idea what we are going to look like in two years, next year, or the year after that.” Coach Keatts voiced. 

Guard Casey Morsell has been an outstanding contributor to the Wolfpack basketball team. He is one of four players who has started in every game and ranked seventh in the ACC for minutes played in the game and second on the team.

Returning into this season he sees more opportunities on the forefront, but he mentioned he needed to be more aggressive. Allowing the team to be more successful by pulling in a stronger offense. The leadership roles have been hands-on and verbal knowing there are new transfers and transferring that energy requires teaching.

“Being more of a threat on offense and being a two-way guy and that is pretty much what this team needs from me, they need me to be complete.” stated Morsell, “I got to be consistently playing at a high level.”

 DJ Burns is a six-foot-nine forward who doesn’t hold back from shooting in the field. Holding a percentage of 56.1 ranking fourth in the ACC while scoring an average of 12.5 points per game. Transferred in for his senior season and made groundbreaking plays. He led the team to effectively play highly offensively with assists and blocks.

Burns expressed that he learned through his coach that through the recruiting process, he had a family setting. Seeing a new roster has also allowed him to grasp and exert that home feeling to the rest of the players.

Burns said, “I know how it was for me being one of the new guys coming in so just making them feel welcome, I helped all of them move in, just doing everything we can to make sure that they enjoy it as well.” 

As the NC State Wolfpack reflects on the last season of defending their home court, they look to continue that in their first home game against the Citadel Bulldogs.