WOLFERETTI: You asked for Jimmy V’s bravado and dreamer mentality. You got it. NOW BE PATIENT!

Alright, folks, I’ve been keeping my mouth shut on this issue, but today I woke up, and I’m choosing violence.

This isn’t for 80% of you. But there is a group of Wolfpack fans out there that could use a reality check and to be reminded who they are and where they come from.

And, like it or not, I’m about to do that here in this column.

So close your browser if you don’t like to be lectured. Or just ‘rage read’ this and post how mad you are on social media. I don’t care.

Every NC State basketball fan is quick to claim that they’re 2-time National Champions. They are quick to claim Jim Valvano as somewhat of a symbol of their program. An underdog who dared to dream and led what is probably the best underdog story in NCAA history. They are quick to throw out the quote “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up!” Quick to talk about the good old days when NC State basketball meant something in the Triangle.

Every single one of you would take Jimmy V back without question to lead NC State Basketball.

But that’s not an option, and we’ve inexplicably spent 45 years trying to get back there with coaches who are the exact opposite.

Conservative. Even keeled. Not too high, not too low. A bunch of ‘play it safes.’

You had Les Robinson, whose entire job was to get NC State back in good graces with the NCAA after the 1990 postseason ban. The job had no expectations, and he coaches like it.

Next up was Herb Sendek, who fans couldn’t ever really accept because he was always taking it one day at a time or ‘chopping wood’ as he would say. Another criticism was that he wouldn’t treat UNC/Duke like the rivalries they were (in press conferences) and instead would refer to them as just another game. This pissed a lot of fans off and they ran him out of town.

Then you had Sidney Lowe, who opened up his career with this press conference:

“I told the players. We are competing against ourselves. We are going to play as hard as we can, as smart as we can, and we’re going to play together.”

“We’re going to go out there and have some fun.”

“We’re going to get up and down and let these guys play and restore this thing to where it should be.”

Pretty vague, pretty safe. For someone who played for the great Valvano, pretty uninspiring.

Then there was Mark Gottfried, who opened up his career with this press conference.

“You have great tradition here at NC State. I’m very familiar with it. I understand it, and I want, with you the fans, cherish it together. I know where you want to go. I know where you want to be. To play for a National Championship and participate in the NCAA Tournament. That’s my passion.”

“(There is a) transitional period. You could say that’s somewhat of a rebuilding, but I think it’s just a process. We’d all like to snap our fingers and waive a magic dust over everything and we’ll just win 30 games next year, that’s probably not the reality of life. Process takes time and I know most people today, aren’t a very patient group of people. The reality is, it does take time to get things in place the way you’d like to have them.”

Another ‘temper your expectations’ type press conference.

But hey, Gott did deliver 4 straight NCAA Tournaments before the wheels fell off with two straight 13th-place finishes and a Dennis Smith pay-for-play scandal being investigated.

Next up was Kevin Keatts, who had a confident ‘one-liner’ but still didn’t make any promises. and left a lot of wiggle room. Listen…

“You talk about 2 national championships. You talk about (lists NC State basketball accomplishments). Then ‘Why not NC State?”

“The non-negotiables I have as a coach. One is, academics are so important to us. Life after basketball (what will you be able to do), getting your degree. Accountability, nobody is going to be late to anything else…playing for the name on the front of the jersey and not the back.”

“At NC State, we’re going to pride ourselves in being the best-conditioned team in the country. We’re going to work harder than everyone else. Get every 50/50 ball. When you come to the game, you’re going to see a product that plays so hard.”

“I want you to understand one thing. Kevin Keatts is a winner, and I’ve always been.”

Keatts mostly crashed and burned aside from 3 NCAA Tournament berths (two 1st round exits- and one amazing Final Four run).

But hey, he never promised to win anything, so everything he did was a bonus!

—–

Look back at all of those coaches. None of them laid out a clear vision for the program. None of them told you where they were going to take the program.

Why not?

It’s likely that they weren’t sure they could deliver.

Why build up everyone’s hopes if you aren’t 100% sure you can meet those expectations?

Why create a standard for yourself that’s historically improbable to reach? Wouldn’t that be career suicide?

Why not do what they always say to do…

“Undercommit and overdeliver.”

Let me tell you why. Because the people who say that aren’t true leaders. They’d rather be safe than great. They aren’t willing to go down with their ship. They don’t have full, unconditional belief in themselves.

But there are a select few who do.

Maybe you know some of them.

They speak as if they’re sure.

Does that bother you? Does that make you uncomfortable?  If so, ask yourself why?

Is it because you’re worried about being embarrassed if you don’t meet those expectations? That’s doubt.

Is it because you don’t want to come across as ‘too cocky’? It’s not cockiness if you deliver. Are you scared you won’t deliver? That’s doubt.

Look, we all know you WANT to believe. But there’s a difference between WANTING to and ACTUALLY believing.

When Wade was casting his vision in his opening press conference, you loved it. You were beating your chest, proud to be a Wolfpacker.

But here we are in early January, and we’re 10-5, and some of you are so quick to criticize a team that’s ranked 37th in the nation in NET, 27th in Torvik. Hasn’t lost to a team lower than 51. Already has a Top-50 win.

Is your belief crushed that easily? If so, maybe you weren’t built for this. Maybe you were wrong in what you thought you wanted, and you’d rather have someone more even-keeled. Maybe you should have been pushing for us to run it back with Herb Sendek.

If you’re frustrated, fine. I’m frustrated. I don’t want to lose a single game. I’m frustrated because we had Kansas on the ropes, and we should have beaten Texas.

But I like where this program is at. I like how this program is being run. I love a coach willing to write checks with his mouth that he knows he has to cash. When Wade does that, you should applaud it. Because it becomes personal to him, it becomes an obsession for him. This type of criticism he’s taking, people playing back his comments from earlier in the season, it’d be embarrassing to most. But to a person like this it’s fuel.

And not that it matters, but I think some of you are projecting a little bit. I think you thought you heard something you didn’t hear.

Wade cast a vision in his opening presser, he made bold claims, but NONE of those claims were about the first 15 games of his tenure. They were about building a program.

Let’s look back at the statements made by Will Wade in his opening press conference.

— Pack Insider (@PackInsider) March 25, 2025

“There’s going to be a reckoning for the ACC and a reckoning for college basketball, and it’s coming, and it’s coming soon.”

“This is not a rebuild. We are going to be in the top part of the ACC next year, and we’re going to the NCAA Tournament.”

“This is going to be done the right way, and this is going to be done quickly. We are here to win.”

“Our first home game is November 3rd. I want to sell out the Lenovo Center. We need to send a message. We need to let the ACC and the nation know, The Pack is back! and we are not to be messed with.”

“We’re going to talk like a top team, we’re going to act like a top team, and most importantly, we’re going to win like a top team.”

“We can’t wait to build a consistent winner, that’s consistently at the top of the ACC, consistently in the NCAA Tournament, and consistently competing for the national championship here at NC State.”

The biggest season-one claim here is that this team was going to be in the top part of the ACC and going to the NCAA tournament.

We are 1-1 in the ACC. We have a Quad 1 win. We are ranked #27 in the most predictive advanced metric ranking out there (Torvik) and we have an 89.7% chance of making the NCAA Tournament. So yeah, we’re on pace.

For the insecure ones in the room who need to know what UNC is up to, they’re 2 spots ahead at #25 and are 1-1 in the ACC with a loss to SMU.

But hey maybe you need some context. Here is Kevin Keatts’ best statistical year at NC State vs. this Will Wade team:

In Kevin Keatts’ best seasons, they finished anywhere between 48th and 52nd. This was, statistically, his best team. The 2017-18. team that finished tied for 3rd in the ACC and went to the NCAA Tournament (yes even better than the Final Four team).

Will Wade is 15 games in and his team is putting up numbers that Keatts’ teams couldn’t touch in 8 years.

Ranked 27th overall and better in 13 of 19 of the main metrics in college basketball.

Oh and by the way, when Wade arrived, the donor base was gone. Money was dried up. Him casting his vision for all to see, he HAD to do that. He had to build excitment to bring donors and season ticket holders back into the fold. Because if he didn’t…if he had given you a “Sidney Lowe” type introductory presser, we wouldn’t have the roster we have today.

So yeah, I’m failing to understand what the fuss is all about. We paid Wade $2.5 million to be our coach. That’s not even sniffing the Top-50 of highest highest-paid coaches. And he’s come in and cast the vision you’ve wanted to be cast for 45 years.

And you’re mad because we’ve lost to a handful of Top-50 teams (all of which will likely be in the NCAA Tournament)? Or because the team doesn’t look at dominant as you thought they would?

Look, Will Wade has won everywhere he’s been. He’s at a new school after being out of coaching for a few years and coaching a couple at a small school. Give the guy time to build relationships with recruits (which end up being your portal additions later on, if you miss), to implement his system, and to establish a culture.

Is some of our fanbase this insecure? Have the 45 years of losing done this much damage? Is our ability to believe this shallow?

If so, Jimmy V would be ashamed.