NC State basketball’s Michael O’Connell helped Wolfpack win. Now, it wants more from him
N.C. State men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts remembers reading articles and tweets that said Stanford transfer Michael O’Connell wasn’t good enough to be the Wolfpack’s point guard. He was listed as the 36th-best point guard and ranked in the 220s overall.
He’s not a guy who asks for all the attention, and you won’t see him donning a giant diamond necklace or constantly posting on social media. He wasn’t the Cardinal’s best scorer. But, Keatts and his staff saw the value O’Connell could bring to the team, and their decision to bring him in paid off.
O’Connell enters his second year with the Wolfpack and is taking on a larger leadership role this season, but the process to becoming someone his teammates look up to started in Year 1.
“I looked around in one huddle and he’s talking to somebody,” Keatts said at ACC Tipoff on Wednesday. “I was like, ‘Hold on, is that Michael?’ Because he hadn’t said a word all year long.”
Keatts doesn’t remember what game that was, but DJ Horne was “going off about something” and O’Connell was there to talk him down, to provide calmness in a moment of chaos.
That’s what makes him a special leader, too. O’Connell not only began talking to his teammates, but he learned how to communicate with them on an individual level.
Guard Jayden Taylor said O’Connell knows which players can take getting yelled at and when. Others may need a softer approach. He can read situations and make adjustments in his communication style.
“It’s huge. You’ve got to know your teammates,” Taylor said. “If Michael comes at a teammate kind of crazy and he gets in his feelings about it, now we’ve got a disconnect. That’s the thing I love about Michael. He knows how you’re talking to, who you’re talking to; it matters. It all matters.”
O’Connell ‘found his voice’
That’s something Keatts admires about his fifth-year senior. He’s always been a hard worker, and Keatts recognized O’Connell’s selflessness last season, saying the guard was OK with leading the team in assists instead of points.
But, the head coach said on Sept. 19 the 2023-24 team became better when O’Connell “found his voice.”
Then, this week, Keatts said the graduate student became great at his position when he “realized his words matter” and truly became an extension of the coaching staff.
“He learned how to motivate some guys, and he learned how to pat some guys on the back,” Keatts said. “He learned how to say this to a certain player and say this to a certain guy. I think when he learned the power of words is when he really took off as a point guard.”
Last season, O’Connell scored 83 of 185 field goals (44.8%) and 30 of 80 from 3-point range (37.5%). But his postseason performances lifted those averages.
O’Connell shot 31 of 66 (46.9%) from the field and 16 of 31 (51.6%) from deep during the ACC Tournament and March Madness runs, while dishing out 38 assists. He finished with 130 on the year, and his season high (8) took place against Oakland in the NCAA Tournament Second Round.
He also pulled down a career-high 11 rebounds in the Elite Eight win over Duke.
Being a leader
Becoming a vocal leader came at the right time, it hasn’t been the easiest transition, though. O’Connell isn’t known for being chatty. He’s treated this, however, like basketball and pushes himself to encourage a teammate — even if it’s saying good job — or provide constructive feedback.
“You can’t get comfortable with something if you never do it,” O’Connell said. “It’s almost like getting reps in — like if you’re getting shots up — to do that. I think that just leads to just becoming more comfortable with talking to guys in different moments.”
Beyond his new confidence in the role, O’Connell appreciates and values the position he’s in. He values what it means to be a leader.
O’Connell said there are different aspects of leadership, but it all comes down to others wanting to follow a person’s example. It’s done out of respect and belief in what the leader is doing — not fear.
Taylor is just one example. He was inspired by his elder teammate and hopes to emulate O’Connell in his own way.
“It helped us win. I literally watched it help us win,” Taylor said of O’Connell. “It’s big time for me to be able to use my voice the same way. Hopefully, I can affect winning the way he did.”
Michael O’Connell’s recruitment might not have impacted much belief from the outside. Instead, he won the locker room and that’s what continues to matter most.
This story was originally published October 9, 2024 at 5:54 PM with the headline "NC State basketball’s Michael O’Connell helped Wolfpack win. Now, it wants more from him."
