Herb Sendek would stand, statue-like, at the end of the N.C. State bench, arms crossed, silent.
Norm Sloan could be angry and loud, Jim Valvano at times funny and also profane.
Sidney Lowe would whistle to get his players' attention, and Mark Gottfried had the wry smile. Les Robinson always had that red sweater.
For the Wolfpack, each head basketball coach has had his own style during games. That now includes Kevin Keatts, who spent the Pack's 81-76 loss to UNC-Greensboro on Saturday in various positions and changing dispositions at the bench.
Once, when the Spartans had an open 3-pointer, Keatts kicked up his right leg, Rockette-style. That didn't distract UNCG's Garrett Collins, who drained a shot from left corner late in the first half.
Eleven games into the season, the Wolfpack players still are adjusting to their coach and the coach to the players during competition. On Saturday, they all were adjusting to playing without point guard Markell Johnson, who was suspended indefinitely for violations of the NCSU student-athlete code of conduct but was at the game.
"One thing I know about coach Keatts is, he doesn't like to lose," Pack senior Abdul-Malik Abu said. "One thing he reiterates is to follow the scout, follow the game plan, because those are the little things that can turn a one-possession win your way. But everything is positive."
During the second half Saturday, as the Spartans knocked down shot after shot, the Pack's Al Freeman was called for a charging foul as he attempted to drive through the UNCG zone. A TV timeout immediately followed the call, and the Wolfpack managers quickly set up the chairs for the team huddle, but Keatts walked through the chairs and directly to Freeman for a few words, being more a teacher and not a scolder.
Once in the huddle, Keatts made his points in a firm manner but without any histrionics.
"He's a good speaker, and he makes sure he gets the most important message across, every time," Abu said.
Keatts is more active during the first half, when the Pack is on the defensive end of the court and directly in front of the N.C. State bench. His chatter is constant as he directs the defensive movements _ Keatts seemingly making as many defensive instructions in 20 minutes of play as a more laid-back Gottfried did in a season.
"That's one of the most important fundamentals we preach and we want to master _ defense, and defending as a team," Abu said. "He's passionate about that."
Asked if Keatts could always be heard, in the first half or second, Abu smiled. "Always," he said.
Keatts isn't the type to chew on the the refs or constantly bark at the guys in stripes. When referee Les Jones was ready to begin play, only to look across the court and see referee Justin Porterfield in some prolonged conversation with UNCG coach Wes Miller, Keatts held his tongue.
Not that he's always silent. The week before, in the Pack's win over Missouri-Kansas City at Reynolds Coliseum, Keatts let referee Jeff Pon know he was not happy with a no-call. "You had to see that foul, didn't you," he said to Pon, giving Pon the hard stare.
In his postgame comments to the media Saturday, Keatts was without his coat or tie. He doggedly refused to say Johnson's absence had an effect on the loss, even if it likely did � the Pack could have used one of their quickest players against UNCG's 1-2-2 press.
When Sloan coached the Pack in the 1960s and '70s, former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell said he would glance down at Sloan during the national anthem and see Sloan's fingers twitching. The coach known as "Stormin' Norman" was intense, before and turning the games.
Valvano was a constant pacer, spinning on the heels of his Italian-made loafers, often wandering out on the floor and causing trainer Jim Rehbock to come out and fetch him.
Sloan and Valvano won national championships, and their courtside antics were a part of their persona. Kevin Keatts is just getting started, his courtside style still to be determined.
