NC State’s Kevin Keatts on MJ Rice, Kam Woods: ‘It’s a little unfair that we’re throwing them in the mix right now’
NC State Sophomore guard MJ Rice spent the first seven games on the bench as he worked his way back from missing time during the preseason due to personal reasons, while junior guard Kam Woods didn’t play in the Wolfpack’s opening nine games as he waited on a two-time transfer waiver.
Both eventually made it on the floor, however.
Rice, a Kansas transfer, made his debut against Maryland Eastern Shore with 11 points in 10 minutes as he flashed his former McDonald’s All-American talent. Woods, an NC A&T transfer, benefited from a court ruling in West Virginia that made every two-time transfer eligible this season, and hit the court against No. 12 Tennessee with 9 points in 18 minutes.
But the duo saw their minutes dwindle against Saint Louis on Wednesday night. Rice played two minutes, while Woods played four. It is not because their talent is lacking — they are both elite scorers — rather NC State coach Kevin Keatts wants to continue to teach them the NC State system.
“Those guys are going to be good,” Keatts said. “If I was writing for NC State, I wouldn’t write how much they’re playing right now. It’s a process. I actually had to step back a little bit because I was throwing two guys in the game that had no idea what they were doing.”
While Woods was waiting on his transfer waiver decision, he led the Pack’s scout team. He impressed there, but he also was not running the Wolfpack’s sets in practice. When he was eligible to play, Keatts decided to let him have a go at it just 20 minutes before tipoff against the Volunteers.
Rice, similarly, did not practice for an extended period while he was away. When he returned, it took a few weeks for him to work his way to the level that Keatts was comfortable playing him.
But now, as Keatts looked at it, it was not the best scenario to play the two transfers extended minutes right before the Christmas break.
“They both can help us, and they both will help us,” Keatts said. “They both are really good basketball players. But it’s a little unfair that we’re throwing them in the mix right now when they really don’t know what they’re doing. … They’re out there just hooping.”
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The plan, as of now, appears to be a post-Christmas idea. Keatts wants the players to go home for break after the Pack’s game against a winless Detroit Mercy squad on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.
Once the team returns to Raleigh on Dec. 27, it will have a week of practice before it resumes its schedule with a road trip to Notre Dame on Jan. 3. Keatts’ goal is to use that time to get Rice and Woods up to speed in practice.
“I thought both of them have had great moments, but I had to step back a little bit,” Keatts said. “[I thought] ‘Let me figure out how to mix these guys in.’ Do a little more teaching from the film, put them in more practice situations.”
Both players will be key for NC State in ACC play coming up. Rice has averaged 5.5 points and 2.5 rebounds in his first four games on the floor — including 7 points in a three-minute span against UT Martin on Dec. 12. Woods, the former Aggie, averaged 17.5 points a year ago and can find ways to get the ball in the basket.
But for now, Keatts wants to teach them the NC State system before the heart of ACC play arrives.
“They’re both going to be good basketball players for us,” Keatts said. “It has nothing to do with the fact of their ability, it’s just they don’t know what they don’t know.”
