Every N.C. State coach since Herb Sendek has arrived with the hope that he might be able to outlast Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams and emerge as the new scion of the Triangle. Sendek fled on his own. Sidney Lowe, despite his red blazer, was ushered to the exit. Mark Gottfried left muttering about the “tough neighborhood.”
At 45, Kevin Keatts has youth on his side. He hasn't needed it. In Year 1, he has already beaten both Duke and North Carolina, has N.C. State poised to enter the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2015 and goes into the final few days of the ACC season with a chance to do something no Wolfpack coach has done since Jim Valvano.