When the Wolfpack earned healthy preseason predictions before their 2024-25 campaign, more than a few doubted the rankings. Yes, last spring, NC State had earned its One Shining Moment when DJ Horne buried that free throw for a trip to the Final Four for the first time since 1983. But his replacement alongside big man DJ Burns didn’t exactly scream dominance. And, nearing March Madness, the critics have been proven right. Where did it go wrong? Fans? Kevin Keatts or the management?

On The Mark Titus show, the host who contributed to ESPN Insider, revisited the moment NC State earned its glory last year and then the position they are at now– 11-17 overall and 4-13 in the ACC, trailing all teams but one. Where did the Wolfpack nation as a whole fumble? Recruiting top talent. The team had lost DJ Horne, DJ Burns, Mohamed Diarra, and Casey Morsell, and, having gotten a sweet taste of writing history, it was only natural one expected fans to contribute to the NIL collective or the boosters.

Well, that didn’t transpire. At least not per the roster accumulated.

“Why didn’t the fans buy in? Even after the Final Four run, why didn’t they buy in? Titus questions. Fans staking big money on recruits has been a thing of common afterall. Louisville, for one, tops that chart with incoming talent, Nate Ament seeing as much as $30,000 on Fanstake alone. Titus believes similar efforts could have helped Wolfpack with a better roster. However, he isn’t blaming it all on the fans.

Given the program’s poor record over the year — last title in 1983, 2 NCAA tournament appearances in 5 seasons, and not a convincing enough 9-11 conference finish last campaign — maybe they did not trust people in authority enough.

“I think the obvious kind of on-the-surface answer is, the fanbase considered it a fluke? The fanbase didn’t give credit to the people in power for pulling it off. They said like, ‘yeah, that was fun. But I am not gonna give you money and trust you to do it again’… Maybe the most important thing in being a college coach or GM, or director or whatever you call it, moving forward will be, do fans trust you to spend their money,” Titus adds. 

Following the 2023-24 season, Keatts brought in 4 transfers on scholarships: Dontrez Styles, Marcus Hill, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, and Mike James. All three of these — James sidelined due to injury — make the top 4 scorers for Wolfpack. But it clearly hasn’t been enough. The team has lost 8 of their last 10 games– 5 against teams ranked lower in the pre-season predictions. So disappointment is evident when Titus taps into NIL conversations. He isn’t happy with the backing NC State has offered a coach returning from a Final Four run.

“After a final four run, the coach should feel the ability to go top shelf right? I think it’s like you just got your bonus. ‘You know what? We’re going out to dinner. Let’s get the nice bottle of wine. We’re are shopping for a car, let’s splurge for a moon roof.” That’s the treatment expected for a team that has delivered the program’s best performance in decades.

However, NC State is getting creative with its funding efforts. One bold move involves selling the naming rights to the Athletics Director position for $5 million. Of that amount, $3 million will go toward an endowment for the role, while the remaining $2 million will help enhance the athletic program. It’s a clear sign that the university is committed to finding new ways to stay competitive in the ever-evolving college sports landscape. But they need to yield consistent results to get the fans on board.

For now, the NC State has let the season slip out of its hands.

Kevin Keatts & Co. look to finish strong despite poor ACC standing

Entering the game against Syracuse on the 26th, Kevin Keatts still held out hopes. 6-11 in the conference, the Orange were a challenge to tick off the box because finishing the season strong was all that Wolfpacks had in their minds. Add a second win in three games and the odds weren’t all bad. But while Styles led with 17 points, Syracuse seemed to have an answer ready for just about anything; thanks in large part to  Eddie Lampkin Jr.

The senior center posted 14 points and 15 rebounds to help Orange never trail in the game. They finished 74-60 on a 58.3% shooting and NC State fell 4-13. This takes the program almost out of the ACC Tournament invitations. But Keatts remains steadfast with one goal– finish strong. “We want to try to finish strong as we can going down the stretch, and I think our guys understand that part of it, but we want to try to build some momentum,” he had said.

They are currently on par with Boston College and one game behind California (4th from the bottom). If they manage to secure a win in all three of their remaining games and the Golden Bears stumble, may be the Wolfpacks receive an invitation. They face Georgia Tech next on road but the predictions aren’t reading in their favor. Can Keatts’ squad turn things around?