Will Wade: "We Need A Proven Scorer"
NC State head coach Will Wade has been on the job for a couple of months and so far he’s thrilled with what he and his staff have been able to do in Raleigh.
“It's been great,” Wade said. “We've tried to go about things in a deliberate manner, a little slower than I have maybe at other places, just because we wanted to get a feel and make sure that the kids we're bringing in, the staff we're bringing in, that everybody's a fit for Raleigh, a fit for NC State. I've tried to focus a lot more on that.
“In the past, I've just kind of grabbed talent and grabbed players. That worked, too, but it works a lot better when they're talented and they fit within what we're doing. So we tried to go slow in the transition and make sure that we were very deliberate in what we were doing.”
One of the first moves Wade made was to hire his GM, Andrew Slater, away from the OKC Thunder and to also add Wyoming GM Patrick Stacy to serve as assistant GM under Slater. The two hires signaled the approach Wade wanted to take when constructing his roster with Slater having a vast amount of connections in the recruiting world as well and Stacy, who owns Jam Basketball Intelligence, utilizing his analytical tools to evaluate talent.
When Wade was first hired as a head coach, NIL and revenue sharing wasn’t prevalent. Of course when pointing it out to Wade, he responded, with a smile: “Some would argue that, James.”
Still, Wade knows times have changed, even over the last year. NIL set a market last year that he felt his staff had a grasp of, but an influx in cash from a revenue sharing perspective has changed the game.
“Well, the market's up,” Wade stated. “The market's up about 180% this year. I know that. We've run the numbers, especially at premium positions, the market's up about 180%. It's inflation, right? So the premise that we started with is a very different premise than we're working with now.
“So, we've had to spend our time recruiting players, recruiting donors. I do multiple meetings a day. I do four or five phone calls a day because we've got to get the guys, and then we have to get the finances. So, that part's certainly changed. I think when this house settlement kicks in, it'll even things out, but there's certainly some startup costs this year that we maybe weren't expecting. But, look, our fans, our collective, everybody stepped up, and we're working as hard as we can at that. Hopefully this settlement will bring some normalcy to this chaotic time.”
One of the first moves Wade made from a recruiting standpoint was landing 2026 five-star guard Matthew Able. Not only was Wade attracted to Able’s skillset, but he knew it was critical to set the tone moving forward for the type of players he hopes to bring to Raleigh.
“Look, a lot of times in recruiting these coaches, not [Able’s] coach, but coaches call you and say, ‘Hey, I have this kid and I have that kid,’” said Wade. “And you're like, ‘Well, we don't need him. We need this kid.’ Right?
“I think Able sent a subliminal message as much as anything. It was don't send us your trash. We're not dumpster diving at NC State. We're going to pick off the top shelf. We're not shopping at Target, and look, I like Target, but we're at Saks Fifth Avenue. Send us the best stuff. We're going to compete for the best guys, and I believe that's the biggest message that Able sent.”
NC State has 10 players confirmed for the upcoming season, but Wade knows his roster isn’t done yet. While the Pack can still take up to five more scholarship players, that won’t be the case.
“We'll probably have 15 players, not 15 on scholarship, but we'll have 15 players,” Wade added. “We've got to get maybe two or three more. We'll see. I'd say two, give or take one.
“We're going to fill this thing out nicely. By May 28th, we're going to have a damn good roster. We'll fill this thing out nicely with another couple of pieces.”
With that in mind, NC State has been linked to multiple prospects, from Memphis star guard PJ Haggerty to Texas Tech forward Darrion Williams and international post Musa Sagnia.
For Wade, there is a clear need remaining to be filled.
“We need a proven scorer,” he stated. “We have a lot of guys we know are going to make jumps and get better, but, look, you shoot 62, 65 balls a game. We don't have all 62, 65 shots a game accounted for right now, so we need somebody who can take some shots and it's a proven scorer.
“We'll get one.”