WATCH: Darrion Williams: “Coach Wade Didn’t Lie to Me On Anything”

Forward Darrion Williams met with the media yesterday prior to NC State’s first 2025-26 Men’s Basketball practice. You can watch the video above, and read the transcript below.

On Coach Wade’s intensity…

He’s a little intense. He’s funny though. He’ll crack a joke every now and then, but he’s pretty intense.

With this being a one year thing, not just for you, but the way college basketball is, it’s probably the only year this team is going to be together. How much pressure or how much emphasis is on doing everything you can this season?

I’m a Senior, so this is my last year, but obviously, you only get one chance with one specific group, like you said, with the portal and everything.

So just taking advantage of it, and taking advantage of every moment we get into and having fun. It’s not really pressure. I feel like pressure is when you don’t know when you’re gonna eat next, or if you don’t have a roof over your head.

Basketball is just a game you get to play for fun.

You guys were about five minutes away from going to the Final Four last year. This is a program that did go to the Final Four two years ago. How much has that experience personally helped you, and driven you to get back there and have another shot at this?

I think about it all the time. A few things could change, and we probably would have been in the Final Four, and I feel like we could have won a Natty last year. But just take advantage of it, and know I’ve been in that moment before.

And then NC State going, they actually beat me in the Round of 64 that year, they went on to the Final Four. There’s a lot of pedigree here and we’re just trying to get back there.

How excited are you for the real games?

It’s coming up, we’re getting into the grid here. I’m excited. We’ve got a scrimmage in a couple weeks, or a month or so, so ready for those too.

How competitive are the practices?

Really competitive, especially when we get to playing and coach doesn’t like sloppy, and we run for sloppy, and none of us like to run. We just get competitive and the winner gets rewarded at the end, so.

What’s been the biggest difference coming to here from Texas Tech?

Being in the main city is different than being in a college town.

I love Lubbock, but I mean, just getting used to everything here, getting used to new teammates. Didn’t know anybody coming here. I knew a few people going into Tech, so that made the transition a little easier.

Coming here, not knowing anybody, made me open up more as a person, and not just be more locked in and quiet. But it’s nice though, I really like it out here. The fan support is crazy and the football games are fun.

Can you talk a little bit about the recruiting process, how NC State got in the mix and how ultimately you chose NC State?

Well, Coach Wade, NC State was in the mix the whole time. I just was more quiet about everything. I didn’t really publicize who I was or wasn’t talking to, but I think just as the process goes, you hear plans and decipher who’s just telling you what you want to hear, who’s telling you the real stuff, and I just feel like Coach Wade told me the real.

He didn’t lie to me on any step of anything. I think with the coaches here, you have (Andrew) Slater, who was just with the Thunder. All of our coaches have won somewhere, and winning is important to me.

I think that, and being able to create a culture, I think that attracted me the most.