WOLFERETTI: The Will Wade hire is the hire NC State fans have been begging for since Jimmy V

It’s been 35 years since beloved NC State coach Jimmy V was pressured to resign because of an investigation by the NCAA that found that players had sold shoes and game tickets.

Things haven’t been right since.

Prior to the resignation of Valvano, NC State had just had a program-defining half-a-century of success. Everett Case, Press Maravich, Norm Sloan and Jimmy V combined for a record of 890-388. If you’re wondering what that winning percentage is, it’s 70%.

Since Valvano left, NC State hasn’t been anywhere close to that good.

Les Robinson won 43% of his games, Sendek won 59%, Lowe won 53%, Gottfried won 59% and Keatts won 57%.

Do you know what all of those coaches I just listed had in common?

None of them were coaches that the NC State fanbase initially wanted.

When NC State moved on from Les Robinson there was a feeling that it couldn’t really get much worse. Herb Sendek was a young, attainable target, fresh off a 3-year stint at Miami (Ohio) where he compiled a 63-26 record (71%) highlighted by a 21-8 season led by future NBA star Wally Szczerbiak.

But if you remember back to those days, most of the fanbase didn’t know much about Sendek and wanted someone with a track record, someone firey like Valvano and someone they could be sure would relish the idea of going toe-to-toe with UNC and Duke year in and year out.

The guy many wanted at that time was Rick Majerus who was then at Utah. He had already taken the Utes to multiple NCAA tournaments and seemed to have the demeanor that fit well with Pack fans.

Let’s pause here for a second to explain to those unaware, what NC State fans are looking for, and why.

NC State has 2 national titles. Only 9 schools in the nation have more, putting NC State in pretty elite company when it comes to basketball programs.

However, you wouldn’t know it based on the national perception of the Wolfpack. They generally aren’t taken seriously on the national stage, and constantly fight against the narrative that they are an afterthought in the ACC with Duke and UNC just down the road.

Now, it’s true, Duke has 5 national titles and UNC has 6, so NC State does have some work to do, but if you look at the bigger picture, NC State is still one of the few programs that have multiple national championships. All 5 of Duke’s National Championships came under one coach, Mike Krzyzewski.

NC State fans believe they are just one correct hire away from getting back in the mix and getting back on a level playing field with Duke and UNC.

With that clear, let’s get back to it…

Herb Sendek did really well at NC State with 5 straight NCAA Tournament appearances in a row after missing the tournament in his first 5 seasons. However, NC State fans never really vibed with Sendek and his “chop wood” mentality. He was a level-headed, “take one day at a time”, “no game is more important than the next” type of guy. And while that got results, NC State fans wanted that firebrand who had a chip on their shoulder, for what they deemed as a corrupt investigation that ushered Valvano out of town. They wanted someone who thrived as an underdog and had their sights set on toppling Duke and UNC for the ACC throne.

Sendek wasn’t that guy. So as the fan base eventually turned against him, and they did so believing they’d go out and get that coach….

The NC State fanbase demanded Rick Barnes.

Barnes was the coach at Texas and was fresh off of 5 straight NCAA Tournament bids there, after notching 3 straight at Clemson. They loved that about him, but the reason they really wanted Barnes was because they’d seen him stand up to their rival, UNC.

Barnes’ infamous mid-court shouting match with UNC legend Dean Smith (while he was at Clemson) was all Pack fans needed to see to know that he was their guy.

But Barnes was entrenched at Texas and Lee Fowler wasn’t able to get it done.

Next up was John Calipari, who was another coach in the mold of what NC State fans were looking for. He had revived Memphis after a successful run at UMass that came to a questionable end after he left to coach the New Jersey Nets after his star, Marcus Camby was found to have received improper benefits.

Calipari flew in and even toured the campus. Leading many at NC State to believe he was their next head coach. They were excited because, like Barnes, Cal was known as a hard-nosed coach with a ‘take no prisoners’ mentality.

But Cal passed on the job at the last minute, as did John Beilein.

They eventually landed Sidney Lowe, who was a legendary point guard at NC State, but had no head coaching experience prior to the NC State gig.

Lowe landed some big recruits thanks to his NBA connections, but at the end of the day, the experiment failed miserably.

That led NC State back to the drawing board. However, the fans hadn’t changed. They wanted the same thing. A firey coach who loved playing the underdog role and who had no fear on the sidelines. They wanted the next Jimmy V.

So they went out and tried to get Sean Miller, a former NC State assistant who had just landed at Arizona 2 years prior after an amazing run at Xavier. He was what they wanted. Passionate, sometimes angry, but obsessed with winning.

Sean Miller said, “The standard is the standard.”

“That’s not my job to please people. My job is to hold that f*** standard right here, and not ever, ever, ever give in to it.”

Great teams set high standards and live to them.

(@SeanMillerPod)pic.twitter.com/5PO8AAupcb

— Coach AJ 🎯 Mental Fitness (@coachajkings) February 27, 2025

However, despite his NC State ties, he turned them down.

Debbie Yow then had an interview with Texas A&M’s Mark Turgeon, who she deemed to be ‘too reverential’ towards UNC and Duke.

After that, she turned to Shaka Smart, whose personality didn’t fit as much, but whose style of play seemed like a good fit for NC State. Smart’s run in March Madness came at the wrong time, driving his price up and eventually out of range for NC State.

She also met with Gregg Marshall, Mick Cronin, and Josh Pastner, but eventually ended up hiring Mark Gottfried, who wasn’t quite as firey, and wasn’t the ‘underdog’ type despite his ‘they have to guard us too pal!” calling card. Gottfried did fine, and the fans took to him, but he was never the perfect fit for what the NC State fans wanted. He was a little too polished, a little too sales-y, and a little too West Coast for the Pack faithful.

After Gottfried was sent packing, thanks to a couple of bad seasons and some NCAA investigations over Dennis Smith Jr, the Wolfpack fans looked at Archie Miller as their #1 option. If they couldn’t have Sean, then maybe his brother Archie would fit the bill. Arch was a former PG, a tough-nosed coach who was having mid-major success at Dayton.

But there were rumors that the Millers weren’t big fans of the administration and with Indiana calling, Archie might have better (higher paying) options.

It was then on to Gregg Marshall again, from Wichita State. He had found a lot of success at Winthrop before moving up to Wichita State and winning there. He was another guy who was willing to stand up to the big boys, but missing on him might’ve been a blessing in disguise, as some believe Marshall actually has some real anger issues.

I, for one, am shocked to learn that Gregg Marshall might have severe anger management issues.

If only there were signs… https://t.co/gpgy1mUX6o pic.twitter.com/YguwkUlG2H

— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) October 9, 2020

Was NC State ever going to get the kind of coach they wanted?

Was it this hard to find someone who knew Xs and Os, but also was a builder of men? Someone who could hold players to a high standard and demand excellence, while still understanding how important it was to claim their spot on Tobacco Road?

After missing on Marshall and Miller, they targeted an up and comer from VCU named Will Wade.

Wade was known as a grinder. Someone who was confident in his abilities, but also flourished in the underdog role. This was a team manager, turned grad assistant, turned coach. He wasn’t handed anything, and he expects the same attitude from his players. Wade looked like a great fit for NC State.

NC State AD, Debbie Yow, agreed and was about to hire him, but at the last minute the Clemson job was rumored to be opening up. Wade got his start at Clemson and reportedly wanted to just wait a bit before making a commitment to NC State.

But the Pack couldn’t wait and jumped at the other up-and-comer on the board, Kevin Keatts.

Keatts was confident, but he was a players coach. He wasn’t a disciplinarian or someone who was licking his chops to take on the big dogs, at least that’s not how it came across to the public.

And the one thing the NC State administration should have learned from all of this, is that NC State will tolerate and coach who doesn’t fit their collective personality, but they won’t give them much leash.

Such was the case with Kevin Keatts. He wasn’t that Jimmy V-like firecracker they wanted, but they would hear him out, see what he could accomplish. But when the losing started, the base left his corner. Even a Final Four and ACC Tournament Championship couldn’t win them back. So at the end of a disappointing season, he was let go.

And NC State was back on the hunt.

The fanbase once again wanted their guy. The gritty, hands in the dirt, fearless, feisty type who wanted to come here to test themselves against the best programs in the nation.

This time, they made it clear that they wanted their wrongs righted.

Bring us Will Wade.

The difference this time was that the fanbase had a stake in the game. With the new NIL era it wasn’t just their voices they were speaking with, it was their wallets.

They wanted Wade and they were going to make sure, after 35 years, they weren’t rolling out someone else’s strategy anymore. They were sick of being told the type of coach they needed as a program. They were sick of being sold the idea that they needed a level-headed Xs and Os guy, or an up-and-coming coach who could recruit his butt off.

They finally had enough. For 35 years, this fanbase has told their school the type of coach they wanted. And for 35 years the school has failed to deliver. But this year, this administration listened. This fanbase and donor class made it clear who was going to be hired. And together, they reeled in the big fish they’d been hunting down since Jimmy V’s departure.

There will no better marriage than Will Wade and the NC State fan base.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 19, 2025

It’s the dawn of a new era. One where NC State fans have finally, after 35 years, taken back the reins and will now charter their own course. They now will either sail off into the sunset or go down with their ship.

Either way, NC State fans are all in and united behind the captain of their choice, Will Wade.