“Our returners have swag now”
Offseason News:
Promotion – Coach Kareem Richardson has been promoted to Associate Head Coach. Well deserved. Last season we saw something we hadn’t seen before. During game timeouts, once Coach Keatts finished his message to the team – often Coach Richardson would talk to the guys as they headed back on court with some last-minute pointers. Sometimes he appeared to be demonstrating defensive stances to them, other times he’d just be talking in their ears.
Shot Doctor? – New assistant coach Brett Nelson, an outstanding 3PT shooter during his college career at Florida, is working with players on their shot mechanics in hopes of improving our outside shooting, an early area of some concern for next season.
Roster – Jersey numbers have been assigned and the roster has been published.
- Mike James won the battle for jersey #0, Styles and Hill also wore it last season.
- Breon Pass is moving from #10 to #4, worn last season by LJ Thomas.
- Jayden Taylor switched from #1 to #8, which probably hasn’t been worn since sometime in the 50s when the powers that be (were?) outlawed #6-#9 due to referee counting limitations, revisited and re-allowed again in 2023.
- Ismael Diouf does not yet have an assigned jersey. There’s probably a very reasonable rule requiring a player to be enrolled prior to getting listed on the roster. He plans to enroll for fall session, which starts August 19.
- Paul McNeil is listed at 6’5”. He was listed at a variety of heights online during the recruiting cycle, so this settles it, for the moment.
Notes From Coach Keatts’ press conference
Priority – Build Chemistry
“You have to figure out how to create it off the court,” Keatts said. “We try to create chemistry by playing golf, doing stuff in the community, tailgating. … You cannot have great play if you don’t have great chemistry. We don’t have it right now, we’re trying to get there, but it’s the summer.”
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield
“Talented,” Keatts said of Huntley-Hatfield. “Brandon’s got a chance to be really good. He can step out, he can shoot it. There’s no replacement for DJ Burns … but he’s talented.”
Mike James
“Strong driver that can shoot the basketball,” Keatts said of James. “I’m looking for someone to replace DJ Horne [but] I don’t know if we’ll have anyone replace the way he played, but I think he’ll be really good.”
Dontrez Styles
“He’s going to be really good,” Keatts said of Styles. “He’s a hybrid four man that can play some three and four, and can really shoot it. He had a great year by his stats last year at Georgetown and I think he’ll help us a lot.”
Marcus Hill
Keatts said that Hill will make an impact as both a point guard and shooting guard this season, while providing a consistent paint touch presence.
Trey Parker & Paul McNeil
Parker is more than a “dunker,” Keatts thought, while he called McNeil “ probably the best shooter on our team.”
Michael O’Connell & Ben Middlebrooks
O’Connell has been “making all types of shots,” while Middlebrooks has shown off his pick and pop ability.
Experience
“Our returners have swag now”
“In the world that you don’t have many that are returning, I’ve got five guys that I can roll out there that have been a part of an ACC championship and a Final Four run,” Keatts said. “I think that’s helped the new guys.”