3/17/2017 basketball Edit

NC State hires Kevin Keatts

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UNC Wilmington head coach Kevin Keatts was hired to be the new head coach at NC State. (USA Today Sports)

NC State athletic director Debbie Yow has hired men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts. ESPN's Jeff Goodman was first to report the news.

Keatts replaces Mark Gottfried, who went 15-17 overall and 4-14 in the ACC last year. Gottfried had been the Wolfpack coach for six years.

Keatts has had the golden touch wherever he has been. He had two different head coaching stints at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy — 1999-2001 and 2003-2011 — compiling a 262-17 record and two national championships at the prep school. He coached over 10 future NBA players — including former NC State point guard Lorenzo Brown — and 103 Division I signees at Hargrave, which is about 90 minutes north of Raleigh.

Keatts had often thought he’d be a lifer at Hargrave, but then Louisville coach Rick Pitino called and Keatts agreed to become an assistant coach for the Cardinals from 2011-2014. Keatts recruited future UL standouts Luke Hancock, Montrezl Harrell, Terry Rozier and others, helping the Cardinals win the 2013 NCAA title. ESPN.com named him the No. 3 recruiter in the country in 2013 for his efforts.

The 44-year-old from Lynchburg, Va., who played at Ferrum (1991-1995) got his college head coaching break at North Carolina Wilmington in 2014. UNCW athletic director Jimmy Bass, who previously worked at NC State and the Wolfpack Club, hired Keatts to resuscitate a downtrodden program that had fallen to 9-23 overall and 3-13 in the Colonial Athletic Association in 2013-2014.

The turnaround was quick. In year one under Keatts, the Seahawks won a share of the CAA regular season title and went 18-14 overall and 12-6 in the league. UNCW followed with two straight NCAA Tournament appearances, losing to ACC powers Duke and Virginia in the first round but playing both down to the wire. Keatts earned two CAA coach of the year awards for his efforts, becoming the first coach in league history to win the award in consecutive years (2015-2016). UNC Wilmington’s three straight regular season titles helped him accumulate a 41-13 league mark.

Keatts and No. 12-seeded UNC Wilmington fell 76-71 to Virginia in Orlando, Fla., on Thursday, and he formally met with NC State athletic director Debbie Yow on Friday.

Keatts inherits a Wolfpack roster that loses freshman point guard Dennis Smith, senior center BeeJay Anya and possibly fifth-year senior shooting guard Terry Henderson. The latter hopes to seek a sixth year of eligibility. In addition, freshman center Omer Yurtseven has announced his intention to the test the NBA Draft waters.