NC State Head Coach Candidate: Will Wade’s Unlikely Path to Becoming a Head Coach

You don’t have to play ball to know ball.

Will Wade is proof of that.

Wade’s alma mater is Clemson, but he didn’t play basketball for the Tigers.

He was a Student Manager for the Clemson basketball team for 4 years, which was the same role he had for his high school basketball team.

Wade played JV as a freshman in high school and served as a Student Manager his final three years.

The McNeese St. Head Coach, Will Wade, never planned on being a basketball coach; he thought he was going to be a history teacher.

“I wasn’t a very good player. In high school, I was a JV player my freshman year, and then I was a manager the rest of my time and in college. I love the experience – the game, the competitions. I never had a grand plan to be a college basketball coach. My goal was to be a history teacher and coach high school basketball, but I became a graduate assistant and never got out.” (Link)

Wade must have impressed the former Clemson Head Coach, Oliver Pernell, as a Manager, because he was hired as a Graduate Assistant after finishing his undergrad. When the Director of Basketball Operations position opened up the following year, Pernell went with his gut and hired a man with zero experience.

“I was a manager for four years with Larry Shyatt and Oliver Pernell, and I think Coach Pernell felt sorry for me and said if you’re going to be a poor teacher, you might as well get a graduate degree so I can get you a little more money in your paycheck. After the first year, the director of basketball operations left, and Coach Pernell hired me in that position with no experience. I was very fortunate and have been in college basketball ever since.” (Link)

A year later, Wade’s unlikely ascension in the basketball world continued, with Tommy Amaker hiring him as an Assistant Coach at Harvard. In fact, Wade was the first Assistant Coach Amaker hired after becoming the Head Coach at Harvard. Wade also carried the title of Recruiting Coordinator and pulled off the seemingly unthinkable feat of reeling in a Top-25 Recruiting Class at Harvard. After going 8-22 in his first year, Harvard was 14-14 in year 2, which was the most wins by the Crimson in 13 years.

The young man continued to show that you don’t have to play ball to know ball.

When Shaka Smart got his first head coaching gig at VCU, he remembered a kid that knew ball named Will Wade. Smart was an Assistant Coach at Clemson from 2006-08, and for two of those seasons, Wade was a Graduate Assistant and the Director of Operations for the Tigers. Shaka knew there was something about Wade, making him his first Assistant Coach hire. In 2016, Wade was the youngest coach in the NCAA Tournament.

After helping Smart lead the Rams to four incredible seasons, which included three NCAA Tournament appearances as well as a Final Four appearance, Wade got his first shot as a Head Coach at Chattanooga in 2013…and the rest is history.

The kid who only played one year of JV basketball in high school went on to be the Head Coach at Chattanooga, VCU, LSU, and McNeese St., holding a 70% winning percentage.

You don’t have to play ball to know ball.