© Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports
COMMENTARY: Give This NC State Team A Chance
NC State has won six of its last seven games and three straight contests in ACC play. By all accounts, that is a solid run.
After the Wolfpack gutted out an overtime win against 16th-ranked Miami at home, head coach Kevin Keatts was asked about the enthusiasm that NC State's recent success is bringing inside a locker room that contains a basketball team that is increasingly fun to watch, which is also generating excitement among the program's fan base.
Despite it not being mentioned, Keatts discussed how every team has to be "looked at different" and how he does not try harp on last season's squad "and project that on this team."
Keatts is right to feel that way.
The old Noise Meter would have been nice to have in PNC Arena on Saturday. The NC State fans were loud, and it mattered.
The excitement often goes up when D.J. Burns is backing down a defender. The anticipation is palpable.
When Terquavion Smith makes a huge play -- which is happening with great frequency -- he waves his arms for more noise from the fans, but the truth is he was already getting it from those in the stands. And recently, more people are showing up.
The Wolfpack is now 4-3 in ACC play. With 13 more contests left, that is the same total of wins in the conference that NC State had all of last season.
Bad experiences are like scars or tattoos for the mind. The marks they leave are indelible. It is hard to shake. Not reliving, while trying to forget, those times is a massive challenge.
Keatts is not the only one facing a burden. All of Wolfpack Nation is as well. The fan base rightly wants titles.
For each NC State fan, the tenure of Keatts falls within the greater realm of their personal Wolfpack experience. Unless the supporter is older, that experience does not have any championship banners to gaze at.
Many of the supporters have been turned off over the previous three campaigns. Two NIT berths and a 21-loss season will do that, but it is also the longer context of no titles since 1989 that played its part. The Groundhog Day-ish fate that has befallen NC State basketball can wear on even a hardened fan.
If a freshman by the name of J.J. Redick had not channeled his inner-Kobe in the second half of the 2003 ACC Tournament Final, NC State would be 20 years without a conference title instead of 33. That's still too long.
If Alex Johnson had not been called for a bizarre foul late in the 2012 ACC Tournament Semifinal, the Wolfpack could be 11 years removed from competing for a championship instead of 16. Again, that's still too long.
There is no running from the title drought.
History is important at NC State, both the good and the bad. It gives much-needed insight and context into why Wolfpack fans feel as they do.
It is natural to reflect on it, but this season's NC State men's basketball team -- chock full of transfers who just a couple of years ago probably did not know or care about that history -- has done enough at this point to not have the past thrust on them. They are playing for this team, and they have earned the right for folks to cheer them for what they are doing while trying to leave previous history at the door.
It is not easy. Keatts struggled with it when asked. NC State fans struggle with it nearly every game. There is no shame in that. It is a sign of commitment. The past often defines people in the present.
But if folks who have made it this far rooting for NC State are now letting the past jade them into not caring about the 2022-23 squad, they are missing out on something that is currently fun, and has a real potential to be special.
The additions through the transfer portal, especially Burns and Jarkel Joiner, have been on point. Keatts was once a prep coach, and that experience of piecing together teams on the fly has served him well.
Augmented by talent and enthusiasm (Terquavion Smith), steadiness (Casey Morsell), and players prospering in their roles, such as Ernest Ross did against Miami, the Wolfpack probably should not fear anyone.
And at 14-4 overall past the halfway point of the regular season, it is time to look at this team through the prism of its own achievements and that alone. It is a squad that plays fun, albeit not perfect, basketball. It is also a team with a wonderful personality.
NC State fans that are still holding out should not let experiences within the past three seasons of the Keatts Era or the last 30-plus seasons as a whole keep them from following this team.
Give this current NC State group a chance. Fans will certainly like them as people, and the Wolfpack team just might have a few more surprises up their sleeves as well.
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