NC State faces big expectations for Will Wade’s debut season with Wolfpack picked 4th in the ACC
N.C. State (12-19, 5-15 ACC)
The Wolfpack’s follow-up to an unexpected 2024 Final Four run turned into a crashout triggering the firing of coach Kevin Keatts. Enter Will Wade, who exited LSU amid a cloud of NCAA trouble but won quickly at McNeese in climbing back to a power-conference job. His Wolfpack program with 13 newcomers is picked to finish fourth in the ACC and was the top vote-getter among unranked teams in the preseason AP Top 25 poll. Wade is one of four new coaches in the league.
Players to watch
Darrion Williams (senior, F, 6-6, 225, 15.1 ppg). Landing Williams after he flirted with staying in the NBA draft was a huge acquisition. He helped Texas Tech reach last year’s NCAA Elite Eight, and he’s ACC preseason player of the year.
Tre Holloman (senior, G, 6-2, 195, 9.1 ppg). The point guard was co-captain for a Michigan State team that reached the Elite Eight last year.
Paul McNeil (sophomore, G, 6-5, 190, 4.2 ppg). McNeil is one of two returnees but offers intriguing upside with his shooting potential, highlighted by his last-second 3 to beat South Carolina in Sunday’s exhibition game.
Departures and arrivals
The roster overhaul includes nine transfers, two international prospects and two freshmen.
Notable transfers include guard Quadir Copeland and forward Ven-Allen Lubin. The 6-6, 220-pound Copeland spent two college seasons at Syracuse before starting 24 games for Wade at McNeese last year. The 6-9, 250-pound Lubin is playing for a fourth program in as many years, going from Notre Dame to Vanderbilt and last year to Wolfpack rival North Carolina.
Other arrivals include international prospects in guard Jayme Kontuniemi (Finland) and forward Musa Sagnia (Gambia), and 247Sports four-star freshmen Matt Able and Zymicah Wilklins.
Top games
Wade’s debut comes Nov. 3 at home against N.C. Central. The nonconference slate includes playing in the Maui Invitational in Hawaii, visiting No. 20 Auburn (Dec. 3) and hosting No. 19 Kansas (Dec. 13). N.C. State hosts Wake Forest on Dec. 31 to open an ACC schedule featuring a trip to No. 11 Louisville (Feb. 9) along with home games against No. 25 UNC (Feb. 17) and No. 6 Duke (March 2).
Facts and figures
Wade spent five years at LSU and won the Southeastern Conference regular-season title there in 2018-19 before his firing in 2022. After a year out of coaching, Wade went 50-9 in two seasons at McNeese, including last year’s March Madness upset of Clemson. … The previous two N.C. State coaches (Mark Gottfried in 2012, Keatts in 2018) made the NCAA Tournament in Year 1. … This is the highest N.C. State has been picked in the ACC since entering the 2012-13 season as league favorite.
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