Will Wade talks UNC, personnel changes, and home court advantage in his weekly Zoom call

Will Wade met with the media for his weekly conference Zoom call. Here is the transcript.

Reporter: The attention to detail may not have been where you wanted it from the players. Have you seen a change in the last day and a half after these last two losses?

Wade: We just did some shooting yesterday. We didn’t do anything too heavy. We’ll go through more of the detail stuff today in our walkthrough tonight after practice. Hopefully, we’ll have their attention.

Reporter: And then what would you do as a coach if there wasn’t a change? How do you grab their attention and try to get that fixed at this point in the season?

Wade: You’ve got to look at some personnel. At the end of the game, you’ve got to look at who we have throwing it in, who we have shooting it. So we’ve got to potentially make some adjustments there.

Reporter: Obviously, a big game tomorrow. What are you seeing from Carolina? What are some challenges they present?

Wade: North Carolina is a great team. Coach Davis has done a tremendous job with them this year. They’re huge, that’s the biggest challenge. We’re not the biggest bunch, and they’re massive on the frontline, which has been a major issue for us this season. They’ve got great personnel and really good players. Tremble is a veteran guard who’s been around a long time and very savvy. They shoot the ball well. It’ll be a massive challenge for us to match up with them.

Reporter: You all have not lost three games in a row this season. Is that something you’ve had to talk about – like we don’t want to lose a third -or is it something they just know?

Wade: We don’t want to lose one game in a row. We need a win, but North Carolina wants to win too. It’s not simple, but hopefully we come out and play with a little more edge than we have been.

Reporter: It seems like Ven-Allen Lubin has showed up for you every game and been fairly consistent. Just discuss his play and what you’ve seen from him the last couple of weeks.

Wade: Ven’s about the most consistent guy we have. He shows up, he’s reliable, he’s dependable. He’s the same way in practice that he is in the game. I’m very proud of him. We’d be in a really difficult spot if he hadn’t been playing at such a high level.

Reporter: The atmosphere was great for the Miami game. What are your expectations for the rivalry matchup against North Carolina at Lenovo?

Wade: I thought the crowd Saturday was great toward the end of the game. That was as loud as I’ve heard Lenovo all year. I’m sure we’ll have a good crowd on Tuesday. I’m just disappointed we’ve lost three home games. We’ve had great crowds—we sold out the Virginia Tech game at noon on a Saturday—and our fans deserve better than what we’ve been giving them.

Reporter: With three home games left, is there any kind of planning the staff does in terms of maximizing recruiting possibilities?

Wade: We’ve had guys in. We’ve tried to put a focus on getting some younger guys in as we move forward. We’ll continue to get guys in when we can.

Reporter: This is your first year at NC State, but you’re not new to this rivalry with your history at Clemson. What do you think about this rivalry between North Carolina and NC State?

Wade: I don’t think it was really a rivalry at Clemson when I was there—we still hadn’t won at the Dean Dome. Coach Burnell finally broke that streak. It’s two teams in close proximity that both have passionate basketball fan bases. We’ve got to do our part to make it a rivalry by winning and being as competitive as we can be.

Reporter: In this game today, players aren’t necessarily coached as hard. You’re a guy who doesn’t shy away from coaching your guys hard, even being vocal in post-game press conferences. How do your players respond to that?

Wade: You’d have to ask them, but they know what they sign up for. We’re very upfront—you can see the videos. Everybody knows what they’re getting into. We’re not hiding anything in recruiting. We’re going to coach you hard, spend a lot of time with you, and love you up too. That’s the basis of what we do. You can’t coach them very hard if they don’t know you care for them. We try to make sure first and foremost that we care for them and want what’s best for them. That allows you to coach them as you see fit.

Reporter: You’ve watched some of Carolina this year. Saturday, they didn’t have their two frontcourt guys. Did they play any different than what you’ve seen earlier in the year, and how is it preparing when you don’t really know if they’ll have those guys or not?

Wade: They played really well. Stevenson had a career high. Those guys stepped in, did the job, and performed at a really high level. When guys go down, it gives opportunity to other guys. At a program like North Carolina, you’re going to have 10 or 11 guys deep who are very talented and very good. That’s what they have.