CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein on NC State’s Hiring of Will Wade: “The Triangle will Never be the Same.”

What is CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein’s take on NC State hiring Will Wade to be their Men’s Basketball Coach?

“The Triangle will never be the same.”

Check out the video below, and the transcript underneath.

Will Wade is about to flip NC State’s roster.

The Triangle will never be the same. pic.twitter.com/yvZJphO19J

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 25, 2025

Transcript

“I don’t think if you’re an NC State fan, there has been a more exciting time to be a fan of the Wolf Pack, and I know that this program went to the Final Four last year, and I know that might sound a little crazy, but I have covered Will Wade for a long time. I have known Will Wade for a long time. It’s a what-you-see-is-what-you-get type deal, but this is somebody who will not flinch regardless of who’s in front of him.

This is somebody that is going into the Triangle and is going to roll up his sleeves and completely try to distort everything that’s going on at North Carolina and Duke. I would expect, if you’re an NC State fan, to see major commitments out of the transfer portal. I would expect, if you’re an NC State fan, to see the roster flipped and flipped in a way that will put the Wolf Pack in the top four or five of the ACC next season.

Remember, Will Wade was an assistant under Shaka Smart on the 2011 Final Four team at VCU, went to Chattanooga, went back to VCU as a head coach, is the only head coach at VCU to win an NCAA tournament game since Shaka Smart left, then went to LSU, got in a lot of trouble at LSU, but won the SEC at LSU, and then went to McNeese and won 58 games in two years and won an NCAA tournament game for the first time in school history.

Is Will Wade for everybody? No.

Does he make enemies in the business? Absolutely.

He’ll step on somebody’s throat to get a player. I know that.

But if you’re looking for somebody to distort the triangle, if you’re looking at somebody who wants to get in the ring with Jon Scheyer and Hubert Davis, this is the guy that’s going to do it.

There has never been a more exciting time than right now for what’s ahead in the next month or two for NC State fans. I know this program went to the Final Four a year ago, but there is going to be a major, major flip in Raleigh, North Carolina.”