ACC title, Final Four gave NC State a taste of the good stuff. Now it wants more

N.C. State basketball players sat in chairs along the perimeter of the practice floor at Dail Basketball Center on Thursday as they waited to speak with members of the media. Things looked a little bit different than they did a year ago: Eight new players wore a Wolfpack uniform, an ACC Championship banner hung from the rafters and the court featured the 2024 Final Four logo.

The scene was a clear reminder of where the program has been in the last six months and where it hopes to go.

“Every year is different, and you know what? We can’t live on the memory of last year’s team,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “Nor can Purdue, nor can UConn, nor can Alabama. We’ve got to go out there, and we’ve got to create our own opportunities with this group.”

That’s the resounding message from the players, too. The ones who experienced the ACC title and Final Four run are ready for more. They got to feel the overwhelming joy and pride from the unlikely nine-game run, but last season is driving the team for more. The run was completely unexpected, but it proved the unlikeliest outcomes — even another Final Four or a national title — are possible.

“We all enjoyed that moment to its fullest, but we want to get back there and enjoy it again,” Ben Middlebrooks said. “I think we’ve all been locked in on that.”

Breon Pass recalled his freshman year, telling former assistant coach James Johnson he planned to help N.C. State hang one or two banners. He and teammate Jayden Taylor want to hang a few more.

“The national one, though,” Taylor said. “Hold me to it.”

The Wolfpack roster features five transfers, three freshmen and five returners that Keatts called “a bunch of self- starters.”

Outside of the limited practice times, players work out on their own, go through drills and play pickup with one another.

Plus, the team spends time together away from basketball. Several have gone golfing (Jordan Snell conducted a faux interview in which Michael O’Connell called the junior the team’s best golfer). There is a men’s basketball tailgate at N.C. State football games, Thursday dinner plans, and a trip to Wilmington in a few weeks.

It’s the first time in Keatts’ tenure at N.C. State that he’s had a group with as many self-motivated players. The transfers are settling into their roles. Keatts praised O’Connell for his ongoing vocal leadership, which began to take shape during the ACC Tournament. Snell has stepped into a leadership role away from the court, showing his teammates how to handle business outside of basketball.

N.C. State’s full schedule will be released Tuesday but several confirmed matchups include Kansas, Purdue and Texas. Keatts said the team wanted to be challenged in the early part of the season.

Those are all good signs for a program seeking a third straight NCAA Tournament berth. Keatts and his players claim the ACC Championship and Final Four don’t add pressure to have success in March, but only because that’s the expectation.

“We want to do it every year. We want to have that opportunity there,” Keatts said. “It is so tough in this league with the amount of teams that they’re putting in the tournament. (The) last couple years we’ve had five. It’s only been three teams that have been to back-to-back NCAA tournaments, and we just happen to be one. It’s really hard.”

The team begins official practices Monday with a return to confetti-filled arenas in mind. It’ll be a long road. There will be tough stretches and potentially times of doubt. N.C. State, however, believes in the team’s work ethic, dedication to refining skills and development of intangibles.

“It’s great and all, what happened in the past, but you got to work on getting better for the future,” O’Connell said. “The season’s over. We obviously won the championship, got to the Final Four, onto the next. We can’t worry about the past and still be living in that one when we have a whole new season ahead of us, a whole bunch of new guys — a new program, in a sense. We’re just trying to get better every day and get ready for the season.”