It really happened.
Kevin Keatts is out as NC State’s head men’s basketball coach, the school announced Sunday morning.
“I want to thank Coach Keatts for his contributions to NC State and for always representing the university with class,” said Corrigan. ”He will always have a treasured place in Wolfpack history for the accomplishments of his 2023-24 squad and I appreciate the passion he brought to this role. We wish him and his family the best in the future.”
The decision comes a day after Keatts’ team concluded its season with a meltdown loss in Miami to finish 12-19 and 5-15 in league play. It was a massive failure of a year and ultimately just too bad to sustain the argument for another season of his leadership. I’m surprised that Boo Corrigan went and pulled the trigger, but I’m much less surprised than I would have been, say, a month ago. The stretch run was really bad.
I’m sure NC State will take some hits for doing this the year after a Final Four run, but the larger picture tells the tale, and there’s nothing premature or unwarranted about this move, despite that fluke run.
As much as last season may have heightened the enthusiasm in Raleigh, this season dashed it, and Keatts’ position became untenable. Fundraising and selling tickets were going to be pretty tough after this, but now the program can pivot away from that mess, and if Corrigan gets this hire right, people are going to open their checkbooks. The move is about this as much as it is anything else, I think.