NC State Men’s Basketball Head Coaching Search: You Might Not Always Get What You Want

NC State is on the hunt for a new Men’s Basketball Coach, and the prevailing notion across the internet is that McNeese State’s Will Wade and VCU’s Ryan Odom are at the top of the wish list. If we’re being completely honest, does anyone really know who is at the top of Boo Corrigan’s wish list?

With that being said, the Wolfpack has a shot at landing either of them, but securing either coach is far from a guarantee.

You don’t always get what you want.

There are many variables at play here, but let’s start with the fact that other schools are also actively looking to hire Odom and Wade as their next head coach.

It appears that Odom is Virginia’s top target to replace Tony Bennett, who retired prior to the beginning of this season. Bennett was paid $4.15 million. Certainly, Odom is a native of Durham, North Carolina, and his father was a legendary coach at Wake Forest, but he has also established significant roots in Virginia. Odom played college ball in the commonwealth at Hampden-Sydney, was an assistant coach at Virginia Tech for seven years, and has spent the past two years at VCU. Additionally, Odom has years of coaching experience in the DMV area, serving as an assistant coach at American University (Washington D.C.) for seven years, and as the head coach at UMBC (Baltimore, Maryland) for five. That’s a lot of roots, life lived, and foundational groundwork on the recruiting trail.

Also, it’s been reported by ESPN that Villanova could also be a viable landing spot for Odom if Kyle Neptune isn’t retained.

When it comes to Will Wade, things get all kinds of complicated. Wade could be a candidate for the Indiana job, even though he’s not the first name being thrown around. One of the names, though he might not be at the top of the list, is Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell. If the Clemson job were to open up, that would be a déjà vu moment because the possibility of being the Tigers’ Head Coach is what kept Wade from becoming NC State’s Head Coach in 2017. Wade played ball at Clemson, and the possibility of Brownell being fired in 2017 gave him enough pause to not quickly say yes to Debbie Yow, and Kevin Keatts became the Wolfpack Head Coach. Ole Miss Head Coach Chris Beard could be another coach that Indiana tries to scoop up. If Beard heads to Bloomington, the Ole Miss job could be more enticing to Wade. An even bigger opportunity that could open up would be at Texas, where Rodney Terry is sitting on a very hot seat. If Terry is let go, Texas might pick up the phone and call Wade.

I’ve broken down those possibilities without even considering what those schools might be able to offer either of them in salary, guaranteed investment from NIL or revenue sharing, which might surpass what NC State can put on the table.

This analysis isn’t embracing a glass-half-full perspective. Not in the least. I believe that Wade and Odom have legitimate interest in the job and are in conversation with NC State.

This isn’t our first rodeo. You don’t always get your top choice, or for that matter, one of your top two choices. Sometimes it’s because you dropped the ball, sometimes it’s because you get outbid, and other times it’s because of layers of context you can’t compete with.

With that being the case, we will continue to focus intently on coverage regarding Wade and Odom, but it would be naive not to explore other potential candidates, so you can expect a breakdown of other possibilities as this situation unfolds.