Holliday: Keatts has Pack believing they can beat the best
Posted April 5, 2024 5:52 p.m. EDT
Updated April 5, 2024 7:11 p.m. EDT
The NC State's men's basketball team of 2024 has echoes of Wolfpack champions of 1974 and 1983.
After a decades-long title drought, this team believes 2024 is their year, in no small part because of the belief their coach, Kevin Keatts, had in them all along.
Over nine games and three weeks, there has yet to be an answer to DJ Horne's question: Why not us?
In 1983, Jim Valvano led the Wolfpack to the championship game against heavily favored Houston known for high flying dunks. NC State answered Houston’s fast-paced, "Phi Slamma Jama" team with stiff defense, and finished them off with a Lorenzo Charles dunk with 2 seconds to spare for the win.
A player from the 1974 team was there to witness the 1983 win. As WRAL broadcast live, Phil Spence jumped into the shot, full frame, hands up in the air and said, "It's '74 all over again!”
Forty-one years later, the Wolfpack are on another survive-and-advance run. They won five straight to claim the ACC Tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They are the highest seed remaining in this year's Final Four, and they took down Duke to get here.
Keatts has been able to punch the right buttons to get the most out of these players. DJ Burns is a match-up nightmare. Michael O'Connell is the captain of the backcourt.
Fans who, as recently as a month ago, were calling for a coaching change, see a Keatts team shooting three-pointers, winning the turnover battle and winning games. They too have started to believe that history could be repeated in the 2024 Final Four.
