McLamb's Musings: Draft Excitement and Choosing What To Believe
Inside Pack Sports beat writer Rob McLamb has some random musings that he would like to share.
Hello all, my name is Rob McLamb, and I have some NC State-related things that I wanted to opine about. I figured the World Wide Web is big enough to withstand the extra link.
Drafted For Coverage
As many of you know, I had the great thrill of covering the 2025 WNBA Draft in Manhattan’s West Side a couple of weeks ago.
I love New York City, I follow professional basketball, and I have links to NC State, so it worked out quite well.
While there, I saw a game at the new (not new, it is now over 15 years old) Yankee Stadium, with Wolfpack legend Carlos Rodón on the mound and another terrific NC State alum, Patrick Bailey, catching for the visiting San Francisco Giants (who used to play directly across the Harlem River).
The Yankees game was fun, especially since I sat in the outfield stands where the boisterous folks tend to congregate. I had been told the second version of Yankee Stadium was more corporate, and perhaps in some ways it is, but the folks around me were quite passionate about their team. An organization with that much tradition probably requires two or three games just to see everything around the stadium. I am sure I will be back someday.
I also meandered over to Coney Island to watch the Brooklyn Cyclones play. The Cyclones are a high single-A affiliate of the New York Mets, and their starting centerfielder is Eli Serrano III, a member of the 2024 NC State squad that reached the College World Series.
The backdrop to the stadium was gorgeous, but the timing was not the best. If you love baseball and seeing games at unique parks, definitely check out Brooklyn, but do so in the summer. Nathan’s Hot Dogs, the beach, the Boardwalk, and other sites are nearby.
The nitty-gritty of the trip was the WNBA Draft. I found it charming to see folks have their dreams fulfilled, especially NC State alums Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James. Expect more coverage of their exploits in professional basketball on this site.
Rivers and James seem to have landed in good spots, and their respective employers have used social media to extol the skills of their newest team members. With the Connecticut Sun, Rivers goes to an organization that can be considered a viable title contender, while the Dallas Wings will be one of the younger teams in the league, as James will team up with top pick Paige Bueckers. It should be fun to see how things shake.
Meanwhile in Raleigh
Zoe Brooks and company will get to build off the fine work of the outgoing seniors when play resumes in 2025-26.
What will NC State look like? When are the transfers going to sign with the Pack instead of other schools? Does the program have enough NIL money to compete with the wealthiest schools?
These are great questions. Answers will come sooner than later, especially on the transfer front, but Wes Moore has earned the right to be trusted in the buildup.
The Wolfpack has been feast or famine with its transfers. For every Rivers and Madison Hayes, there is a Caitlyn Weimar or Katie Peneueta – players who did not work out simply due to the uncontrollable, like injury. Moore must work judiciously in the market while also making sure his program appeals to high school kids as well. It is not the easiest balance.
NC State has delivered a conference title of some sort or a Final Four appearance in every season of this decade except one (2022-23). The Pack is a force, but now sustaining the power structure while taking the final step of winning a national title is the task. It will not be easy, but, again, Moore has earned the right to be trusted in the journey.
Wad(e)ing Through the Rebuild
NC State is signing this kid. NC State has missed on that kid.
The recruitment of the transfer portal is in full swing for the men’s basketball program. For all I know, new head coach Will Wade, who gave his version of ‘Will Wade Is A Winner’ at his opening press conference when he confidently mentioned that he felt NC State could be in the top half of the ACC standings next season, might be putting the pieces together.
What is most interesting for me, at least at this point, is that he has galvanized the fan base and the close to consensus belief among the Wolfpack faithful that they have the right guy for the gig is refreshing.
An annoyed fan base, lacking hope, or – worst of all -- feeling bored, seeps outward. Eventually, I feel it too. I have to say it can wear on a person. It is incredibly frustrating to go into a season and know that when it comes to supporting a team that you will have to give leeway for screw ups. I tip my hat to NC State fans. You must love the Wolfpack.
Wade’s hire hits differently. Hoping has been replaced by knowing. Of course, no one knows what type of success Wade will have, but the confidence levels are high.
I want to see, for myself and the fans that have never experienced it, a men’s basketball program at NC State with the responsibility of expectation. It is cool to shock the world every once and a while, but being the team everyone else points to as the standard is not exactly a boring plight.
The juxtaposition of a new coach and a veteran coach is remarkable in this instance.
Ho-Hum
Wade is not going through the saga of the transfer portal alone. NC State’s football head coach Dave Doeren is there with him. The Wolfpack seems to sign someone on one day and then lose a player the next.
It is not piquing my interest.
This is where, in my opinion, the contrast of a new coach trying to build versus a veteran coach chasing an ACC title in a Captain Ahab-like pursuit accentuates the differences.
Perhaps one reason fans clamor to fire a coach or demand changes at the hint of failure is because, subconsciously, the new coach brings them back at least to the baseline of having hope. I will leave that theory for Freud followers of the world.
Wade has not failed or underachieved at NC State yet, so why doubt him? Men’s basketball is generating enthusiasm simply by trying something different. Amen to them.
What I do know is the boredom that I felt watching the men’s basketball program over the past few seasons – sans March/April of 2024 – has started to seep into football season and the doings that lead to it. I wonder if others feel the same way?
I remember when I was in the clique that would predict 10 or more wins for a season. Now I scoff when I hear that.
I remember when I thought NC State could be competitive against top schools, such as those in the SEC. The major conference teams outside of the ACC that the Wolfpack has defeated in the last 16 years are West Virginia (2010), Vanderbilt (2016), Arizona State (2017), and Texas Tech (2022).
In the same span, NC State has lost to Boston College, Duke, and Wake Forest a combined 19 times.
To be fair, Notre Dame (2016) could be included in the victory total despite its quasi-ACC status. It is also not over the top to add Liberty (2020) to the list since the Flames were nationally ranked in their matchup. Cincinnati (2010) and Central Florida (2014) were not in a major conference when NC State beat them.
With due respect to NC State and those opponents, that does not create much in the way of hype.
Football will guide the future of the NCAA and college athletics. There is no running from it.
I am concerned that as more six, seven, or eight-win teams are added to the glut, will apathy or boredom ever set in for NCSU football? It is a great experience to go to a game, but the lack of a title claimed since the Disco Days of 1979 and the seemingly massive gap between the Pack and the teams that do win championships or compete in other top-tier conferences, along with the lack of any magic when the door does open for the football program to cross the bridge to elite (2010, 2017, 2021) should be cause for worry.
NC State needs to take the next few steps in the coming seasons. The status of the entire athletic department may depend on it. Sadly, the history of the past few decades can sap the hope away from even the most faithful. Wishing and believing are two different things.