Busting Brackets
Fansided

ACC Basketball: Updated preseason rankings for 2018-19

By Brian Rauf

DURHAM, NC - FEBRUARY 24: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
DURHAM, NC - FEBRUARY 24: Head coach Mike Krzyzewski of the Duke Blue Devils during their game at Cameron Indoor Stadium on February 24, 2018 in Durham, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
9 of 16
Next
WICHITA, KS – MARCH 15: Head coach Kevin Keatts of the North Carolina State Wolfpack calls out instructions. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
WICHITA, KS – MARCH 15: Head coach Kevin Keatts of the North Carolina State Wolfpack calls out instructions. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images) /

If there’s one thing we know about Kevin Keatts, it’s that Kevin Keatts is a winner. He’ll tell you that himself – but there’s also substance to back that up.

After leading UNC-Wilmington to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, Keatts guided the Wolfpack to the Big Dance in his first year thanks to his aggressive style and up-tempo pace of play. Those two factors, along with his immediate overachieving success, have given fans in Raleigh excitement about and high expectations for the future, but 2018-19 should be a stagnant season for the Wolfpack as they welcome a bunch of new pieces.

NC State lost four seniors and talented big man Omer Yurtseven (who transferred to Georgetown) but welcome back the ACC’s leading assist man in Markell Johnson (7.3 apg) and talented do-it-all guard Torin Dorn (13.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg).

Those two will be tasked with being the Wolfpack’s leaders but the impact of three transfers will determine this team’s ceiling. C.J. Bryce, Keatts’ leading scorer at UNCW, and Utah transfer Devon Daniels are projected to slide into the starting lineup and provide NC State with quality scoring options. Missouri transfer Blake Harris should see a lot of playing time off the bench as well.

Looking purely at the overall talent on this roster and Keatts’ ability as a coach, it would not surprise me if NC State had a real breakout season and finished much higher than this. They’ll pull off some major upsets like they did a season ago, but it will take some time for all of these new pieces to come together.