NC State announces Kevin Keatts as next head basketball coach

NC State has officially announced the hiring of Kevin Keatts from UNC-Wilmington. Keatts comes to NC State after three seasons as the head coach at UNC-Wilmington and a tenure as an assistant at Louisville under Rick PItino. Keatts, from the release:

"I have an incredible respect for the history and tradition of NC State University, and am honored by the opportunity to lead the Wolfpack," said Keatts. "There is an unbelievable commitment to basketball in Raleigh, and I share a vision with Debbie Yow and Chancellor Randy Woodson on what NC State can achieve.

"From incredible fan support to high-level academics, first-class facilities and the ability to recruit at the highest level, everything is in place at NC State to build an elite program. My family and I are honored to become a part of Wolfpack Nation, and I look forward to adding to its storied history."

I’m excited about this hire and I’m looking forward to seeing what Keatts can do in Raleigh given his experience recruiting throughout the southeast region, not to mention his accomplishments as the head coach at Wilmington. These things are almost always a gamble but I like our chances here better than I did after either of the last two coaching hires.

With Keatts in place, there is still a lot for State fans to watch over the next couple of months: first and foremost, how many players on the current roster stay in the fold, and how many transfer? And how quickly can Keatts put a quality staff in place and hit the road recruiting? NC State is going to have holes to fill whether kids transfer or not.

And Keatts may have to wait on tournament results before he can go after some of the prospective assistants he wants.

That stuff aside though, I’m more than ready to move on from the last couple years and I am excited to see what Keatts can do here.