We still have to wait just a little over a month before UNC plays their first meaningful basketball game in the Dean Smith Center, but the anticipation is agonizing. With a brand new squad, a brand new coach, and brand new overall energy in the building, it is hard to keep focus on everything else going on in Chapel Hill. Now that the Heels have had their official practice of the season, there have been some sources that have given first impressions of what they saw or have heard, but there was one guy that I did not expect to hear from, and that is former NC State head coach Kevin Keatts.
Many readers likely know this already, but Keatts hung up his whistle in favor of a gig with ESPN. He ended up creating a practice report from the first UNC practice, and here is what he had to say:
“Mike Malone’s first team at UNC will feature speed, playmakers, and rim protection. Really like the play and leadership of Utah transfer Terrence Brown. Neo Avdalas and Jarin Stevenson have ACC experience and great size at both forward positions. Remember the name Sayon Keita, an elite shot blocker. UNC is built to play uptempo this season.”
Everything that Keatts has had to say tracks with other things that we’ve been hearing this week. It sounds like Michael Malone plans to play with a lot of tempo, which is not shocking given his NBA pedigree. It’s also interesting that Keatts highlighted Sayon Keita, because there has been a lot of talk about how raw the former international player is. That isn’t to say that he isn’t raw — he is certainly a work in progress, and the team is hoping to have Cameron Fens’ eligibility issue cleared up so that he can potentially start — but saying “elite shot blocker” for a raw player is intriguing. It’s hard not to get excited knowing that there may be a Caleb Wilson supplement on the team, because it will be hard to achieve what they want to achieve without some reliable rim protection.
Another interesting note from Keatts was his appreciation for the play and leadership of Utah transfer, Terrence Brown. It really seems like Brown had to play a certain role with the Utes that made him seem like more of a ball-dominant guard rather than a playmaker, but he mentioned on the Carolina Insider podcast that he wants to prove himself as a playmaker this year. It’s still unclear as to who will be the lead facilitator for this team between him and Neo Avdalas, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the two split duties in some manner.
I appreciate Kevin Keatts giving his thoughts about the team, even if he stopped short of giving his prediction for the season. What do you think of Keatts’ assessment, and also, what do you think of all the other intel that has been shared over the last few days from other outlets? Let us know in the comments below.
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