By Brian Murphy, WRAL

Wake Forest Demon Deacons
North Carolina State Wolfpack
ESPN2 | Saturday, February 22nd 2:00 PM EST

The euphoria and optimism surrounding NC State’s delirious run last March has faded quickly.

No one can take away the memories and banners from the Wolfpack’s nine-game run to the ACC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament Final Four.

The fun. The shock. The joy.

But whatever bounce NC State and its fans were expecting from its first conference title since 1987 and its first Final Four since 1983 failed to materialize.

The Wolfpack (10-16, 3-12 in the ACC) is back to where it was before last year’s run with lackluster home crowds and questions about coach Kevin Keatts’ job status.

NC State has lost 10 of its last 11 games, including a 24-point drubbing against North Carolina in Chapel Hill on Wednesday. Barring a quick turnaround, the Wolfpack is likely to miss the 15-team ACC Tournament, currently sitting ahead of just one team in the 18-team conference.

The Wolfpack hosts Wake Forest on Saturday.

Coach Kevin Keatts attributes the lack of a post-Final Four bounce to the influence of name, image and likeness (NIL) in the college game. Players can be paid to play at schools beyond their athletic scholarships through NIL, which the NCAA first allowed in July 2021.

“The landscape has changed around us,” Keatts said. “If you went to the Final Four, if you won the ACC, you could get any player. Not any player, but most of the players you wanted because of that. But when you add the NIL part to it, none of that matters because you can flip a team just like that.

“The disappointment is if we didn’t have NIL like it is now, hell, we might have a different group of guys because of the fact that they’re coming just because they want an education, they want a chance to play at NC State, they want to play in our style. But now it’s not about that. It’s about what can you provide financially. And I get it. This is not a rant to say I’m against NIL.”

NC State returned five scholarship players from the Final Four team, but lost four of its top five scorers.

The Wolfpack brought in eight new players, including transfers Dontrez Styles (Georgetown), Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville) and Marcus Hill (Bowling Green). Mike James, another Louisville transfer, has not played all season due to injury. Keatts also added three freshmen, four-star guard Paul McNeil and three-star guards Trey Parker and Bryce Heard.

Hill, returner Jayden Taylor and Styles average between 12.2 points and 10.1 points per game. It’s a team filled with complementary pieces. But there is no sun around which they orbit.

“This team doesn’t have any superstars,” Keatts said after the loss to UNC.

It’s a refrain he has used several times this season, referencing the lack of an explosive scorer like former Wolfpack players like Jarkel Joiner, Terquavion Smith, DJ Burns and DJ Horne.

“We have a bunch of really good players, which I knew from the start.” Keatts said. “I love them. I think they’re all really good people. They’re fighting their butts off. The disconnect is when we don’t play together with this particular group— because we don’t have that one or two guys that can take a game over — when we’re not on the same page, when we don’t play good basketball together then we really struggle.”

NC State had relied on its defense for much of the season, but has allowed at least 90 points in two of the last three games.

“Scouting mistakes, mental mistakes, breakdowns,” is how Taylor described the first half defensive performance against UNC.

The Wolfpack, no doubt, will be back in the portal in the offseason, needing an infusion of talent and to replace key seniors.

Can Keatts find and land instant impact players like Burns, Horne and Joiner? Will he get the chance to rebuild again? NC State stuck with Keatts after he went 11-21 (4-16 in the ACC) in 2021-22 and was rewarded with back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances.

“It’s hard to build programs, to build culture the way you want to when there is going to be so much turnover,” Keatts said. “The biggest adjustment is going to have to come from us coaches. We have to figure out how to bring in a new group every year and push your culture on them a lot earlier than you ever expect.”

Keatts has five years remaining on his contract, which runs through the 2029-30 season, including two years that were automatically added after winning the ACC Tournament title and reaching the NCAA Tournament Final Four in 2024.

Each accomplishment triggered a two-year extension of his deal, but the maximum extension that can be earned in any single year is two years.

Keatts is paid $1.35 million in annual salary plus $1.95 million in supplemental compensation. The supplemental compensation has risen $600,000 in the last two years thanks to the Wolfpack’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance ($100,000) and the 2024 Final Four ($500,000).

That money is distinct from bonuses earned in each individual season for on-court accomplishments.

If NC State were to fire Keatts after this season, it would owe him $6.75 million, his annual salary for each of the years remaining on his contract. The buyout would be subject to mitigation if Keatts got another job.

Source: wralsportsfan.com