NC State latest ACC men's basketball job to open after parting ways with Kevin Keatts

What a difference a year makes for the North Carolina State men's basketball team and head coach Kevin Keatts. Just 12 months ago, the Wolfpack were not only the talk of the ACC Tournament, but also the NCAA Tournament.

Last March, NC State entered the ACC Tournament as the 10th seed, but needed a miracle to get to the NCAA Tournament. They ended up getting a miracle as they won five games in five days to stun the college basketball world, to win the ACC Tournament Championship. They weren't done.

In the NCAA Tournament, the Wolfpack also pulled off a shocker. NC State was the 11th seed in the South Region and all they did was go out and win the region to make it to the Final Four. They took down Texas Tech, Oakland, Marquette, and ACC in-state foe Duke before falling in the Final Four in Arizona to Purdue.

Now, one day after having NC State's season end, the school has parted ways with Keatts.

NC State parts ways with men's basketball coach Kevin Keatts

On Sunday morning, Joe Giglio of OG Media reported that NC State fired Keatts just 12 months after an unforgettable March run through two tournaments. The dismissal came less than 24 hours after the Wolfpack saw their season end with a loss at Miami. The Wolfpack finished 16th in the new 18-team ACC this season and were part of the bottom three teams in the conference who will miss the ACC tourney this week in Charlotte. Giglio reported that Keatts' buyout is just under $8 million.

Keatts is the latest coach this season in the ACC to either be let go or step aside. He joins Tony Bennett and Jim Larranaga at Miami who stepped down, as did Leonard Hamilton at Florida State. With the transfer portal opening on March 24, it's going to have to be a quick turnaround to find Keatts' replacement.

Speaking of the transfer portal, Keatts released a statement on his X account after the news broke and he had a very funny final part of his statement, stating "I am officially entering the transfer portal.'' That's extremely funny if we're being honest.