Two banners dropped in the Lenovo Center minutes before Kevin Keatts’ eighth NC State basketball squad tipped off its 2024-25 campaign. And it’s safe to say the Wolfpack’s 97-66 victory over the visiting USC Upstate Spartans added to the positive vibes among the program’s faithful.
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The ACC recognized its 2024 champions and lone Final Four participant via the following post, showing those banners unfurl as members of the unforgettable “Why Not Us?” crew in attendance, including Keatts, Michael O’Connell, Ben Middlebrooks, Jayden Taylor, Breon Pass, Dennis Parker Jr., and now-ACC Network analyst Casey Morsell, raised their eyes to the rafters with an undeniable sense of achievement:
🗣️ 𝙍𝘼𝙄𝙎𝙀 𝙏𝙃𝙊𝙎𝙀 𝘽𝘼𝙉𝙉𝙀𝙍𝙎
A historic night for Wolfpack Nation as @PackMensBball unveils their 2024 ACC Championship and Final Four banners. pic.twitter.com/4dgGMxbU5a
— ACC Men’s Basketball (@accmbb) November 5, 2024
And here’s the slow-motion tribute video courtesy of the NC State basketball social media team as it reflected on the Wolfpack’s historic night:
A night we’ll remember forever! 🐺 pic.twitter.com/h71MFMB5AK
— NC State Men’s Basketball (@PackMensBball) November 5, 2024
“What a beautiful night,” Keatts said in his opening statement afterward. “It’s not very often that you get a chance to drop two banners. And for us here at
NC State, it’s been 37 years. It was beautiful. I knew that those banners would look good, but they look
great. It took everything I had, and I got really emotional, but I knew I had to keep it together, because we
had a game to play.
“It’s special. It’s kind of like, why do you do the job? The job is done because you
want to see young men have success. Here at NC State, you know, we talked about when I took the job,
we’re going to win championships. And, you know, I said, ‘Kevin Keatts is a winner.’ When those banners
dropped, I feel all I could do is think about is our players, our fanbase, the alumni, all of the former
players that were just right there and just couldn’t get over the hump.
“Those banners represent
everything about NC State and represent everything about me. I’m just fortunate to be the guy that was
behind the wheel of the car. I want to personally thank everyone that had the opportunity to come watch
the game, and I want to personally thank everybody that watched the game from home.
“It was a special
deal, and I think that’s important. The game was great. I’m glad the game went the way it went because
of the fact that we dropped the banners, and I didn’t want to have a banner hanging to just have an okay
game. So, I’m glad the game turned out the way it did.”
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