NC State men host NC Central for home opener and Will Wade’s inaugural game
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Wade era opens Monday vs N.C. Central before an expected 19,000 crowd
- Wade demands fixes: cut turnovers, tighten defense, earn rotation spots
- N.C. State schedules local opponents to keep revenue in state and aid programs
Will Wade and LeVelle Moton recently caught up over breakfast, two longtime friends and basketball coaches. Next week, they’ll be competitors on opposite sides of the court.
The N.C. State men’s basketball program officially begins the Wade era at 7 p.m. Monday against North Carolina Central, where Moton is now in his 16th season.
“I don’t think that I will have ever been a part of an opener where there’ll be 19,000, 20,000 people,” Wade said. “I think that’s what makes N.C. State great. That’s what makes our fan base great. That’s what makes our program great. … Very, very thankful and very, very appreciative of the fans who are going to show up. I think it’ll be, should be a fun, fun environment.”
Wade told reporters on Friday that Moton was a high school coach when they met in the early 2000s. They remained in contact throughout their coaching careers, and Moton was one of the first people to congratulate Wade on earning the N.C. State head coaching position.
“He’s a phenomenal coach. He’s a phenomenal person, phenomenal mentor,” Wade said of Moton. “He was obviously a great player at Central, as well. I’ve known him a long time. Our relationship goes back a long, long time. Looking forward to competing against him on Monday night.”
The two have mutual friends, Wade said, several of whom worked on Moton’s coaching staff. Moton moved to Raleigh as a child, where he attended middle school and high school. He attended N.C. Central and became one of the school’s all-time leading scorers. After his brief stint coaching high school, Moton served as an assistant with his alma mater and was hired in 2009 as head coach.
Wade complimented Moton’s teams, which won four Mid-East American Conference championships, including three straight from 2017-19. The Wolfpack defeated both of its preseason opponents — Appalachian State in a scrimmage and South Carolina in its public exhibition — but it has a lot to work on.
N.C. State committed 16 fouls against the Gamecocks and has a 1-to-1 assist-to-turnover rate, most of the turnovers coming from the bench, through its two preseason contests. It also missed free throws and layups and had far too many defensive breakdowns.
Wade said Central ranked in the national top 30 for free throw rate, and it was in the top 100 the last five years. The Eagles were also in the top 100 for forced turnover rate. In 11 seasons, N.C. Central ranked top 50 for defensive 3-point percentage.
The Pack will be challenged, Wade said, but it’s practiced better this week and been more receptive to feedback.
“When you get exposed like that, like we did against South Carolina, got a little more urgency and edge to us,” Wade said. “Hopefully, Monday night you’ll see the team that I think we’re capable of being, or closer to the team that we’re capable of being.”
Meeting the standards
N.C. State has a list of goals it wants to achieve each game, including winning the rebounding battle, recording 30 or more deflections and committing 12 turnovers or fewer.
The team did not meet its standards in the preseason games, and Wade said some players have to understand that winning does not equal the absence of problems. Currently, he said, the team has players who can’t see the deficiencies because they’re caught up on getting a win.
“We don’t want to win. We want to dominate,” Wade said. “You’ve got to dominate with your discipline. You’ve got to have a set obsessive attention to detail with what you’re doing. … We’re playing against standards, not necessarily a scoreboard.”
Fixing the deficiencies and making the mindset shift are requirements to be part of the rotation. Wade will start with a nine-man rotation before trying to get it down to eight as the season progresses, but they have to show they can perform up to the staff’s expectations and not allow the imperfections to continue.
“You’re either gonna get this fixed or you’re just gonna sit,” Wade said. “I don’t have time. I’m done playing around.”
Keeping things local
In addition to N.C. Central, the Wolfpack welcomes UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Asheville to Lenovo Center later this season.
Wade believes it’s important to schedule local teams that fans are familiar with and care about. He spoke to an N.C. State student who transferred from Asheville who plans to attend.
From an opponent’s perspective, Wade said it is difficult to ride a bus or fly several hours and spend half of the guaranteed pay on traveling. Keeping games between close opponents helps smaller programs keep more money to support their athletic departments.
“We pay these teams. If we’re gonna pay, we might as well keep the money in state,” Wade said. “We might as well help out our people around us. Now, that’s more my philosophy than an overarching athletic department philosophy. … It’s good for them, I think it’s good for the state, I think it’s good for the fans.”
