NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts talks ACC championship, Final Four
N.C. State basketball coach Kevin Keatts reflected on the Wolfpack’s ACC Tournament championship and Final Four run in a press conference ahead of the 2024-25 season.
RALEIGH — Across 64 games with Louisville basketball, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield experienced 52 losses.
But there’s one loss, in particular, that stands out for Huntley-Hatfield, who spent two seasons with the Cardinals before opting for a fresh start at N.C. State.
That loss was Louisville’s 75-63 defeat to Arkansas State on Dec. 13, 2023. Huntley-Hatfield had 20 points and 11 rebounds against the Red Wolves, but that’s not his lasting memory from a rough night at the KFC Yum! Center.
It’s customary for Louisville fans to make the letter “L” with their right hand to show support for the Cardinals.
Huntley-Hatfield experienced the opposite, the Kentucky Wildcat-version of that hand gesture, from fans after the Arkansas State loss.
“I was walking (on the court), we had lost, and one of the fans had a Louisville sweater on and was throwing Ls down,” Huntley-Hatfield said during N.C. State’s preseason media day.
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Huntley-Hatfield went on to “they was booing us and I never experienced something like that before,” not even in the previous season when the Cardinals finished with a 4-28 record.
“That really stuck with me,” he said of postgame moment, noting it was a “revelation.”
Because of that night, Huntley-Hatfield added, “there’s a different hunger” for him as he joins the Wolfpack.
Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, Mike James want more at NC State
During their two seasons together at Louisville, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Mike James saw the Cardinals finish with a combined 12-52 record, including a 5-35 mark as the doormat in the ACC.
Now, that duo is ready to prove it can help N.C. State build on a season in which the Wolfpack raised two trophies, winning the ACC Tournament before becoming a Final Four participant.
“We definitely went through some hard times (at Louisville). We don’t want to go through that again,” James said.
“That’s what me and (Huntley-Hatfield) were talking about when we were in the portal, like, ‘We can’t do this another season. We gotta win. We gotta experience what some of these guys here experienced.’ So, it’s a big-time hunger that we have in us. We’re just ready to get to work and win some games.”
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They are two of N.C. State basketball’s four additions from the transfer portal, joining Bowling Green’s Marcus Hill and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles. Huntley-Hatfield committed to the Wolfpack while N.C. State was at the Final Four in Arizona. Just under three weeks later, James also pledged to join N.C. State.
“Because Louisville didn’t have a great year record-wise, those guys have been a little bit forgotten. I hope they understand that,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said.
“With Mike James and Brandon, they both have a chance to be really good basketball players here.”
A 6-foot-10 senior center, Huntley-Hatfield started his career at Tennessee before two seasons at Louisville. He averaged 12.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game for the Cardinals last season and starred against N.C. State.
After logging a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds in a regular-season loss to the Wolfpack, Huntley-Hatfield finished with 17 points and seven rebounds against N.C. State at the ACC Tournament in a game that ended up being Louisville’s eighth loss in a row to end the season.
James, a 6-foot-5 redshirt junior, started each of Louisville’s 64 games in the last two seasons. He averaged 12.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in the final year, scoring 20 points against N.C. State in the regular-season meeting.
Following losses in 52 of 64 games with the Cardinals, James said he learned “how to deal with adversity” in a way that he hopes can help the Wolfpack.
“My two seasons there didn’t go how I wanted it to go, but I learned how to be a leader in times like that,” he said.
“I learned how to play through adversity. So, whenever times aren’t going our way, I’ve been through it. I can be a help to the younger guys when things aren’t going their way and just be a leader to the team.”
From being booed at Louisville to being wooed by the Wolfpack, Huntley-Hatfield and James are ready to show everyone they’re capable of more in Raleigh.
“We just want to come in and show people that just because our team was bad, we’re not bad individual players,” Huntley-Hatfield said.
“I feel like this was both of our opportunities to come to an already-established winning program to show that we can contribute to winning.”
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.
