NC State coach Kevin Keatts went from hot seat rumors to the Final Four
Wolfpack is up against No. 1 seed Purdue, but veteran coach has been on national stage before
GLENDALE, Ariz. — Shortly before NC State coach Kevin Keatts was scheduled to speak with the media, we sat in a small room catching up.
The last time we’d spoken was April 8, 2013, when Keatts was enjoying the high point of a coaching career that had experienced many intriguing twists and turns. That evening in Atlanta, Louisville defeated Michigan to win the men’s national championship. Two months later, the kid from Lynchburg, Virginia, an assistant coach for Louisville, was at the White House with his team shaking hands with President Barack Obama.
Eleven years later, Keatts is two victories away from winning a national championship of his own when NC State faces heavily favored No. 1 seed Purdue on Saturday in a national semifinal game.
Like the Wolfpack’s Final Four run, Keatts’ road traveled has been an unlikely journey that has taken him from Lynchburg to Ferrum College to Hargrave Military Academy to Louisville, UNC Wilmington and NC State.
This is Keatts’ third Final Four. He reached one with Louisville in 2012 and again in 2013.
This time Keatts is the captain of his own ship.
“This is one of the highest highs that I could ever have,” he said. “This will be my third Final Four, but I’m blessed because I get a chance to take my own team there.
“This is a major thing. I’m in the moment. I’ll look back at it five, 10 years from now and realize how important it is. But it doesn’t get any better than this, especially the way nobody expected us to be here.”
