NC State Basketball: Will Wade 'Not Gonna Shortchange' Cowboys

The second-year McNeese State head coach remains at the center of the NC State basketball program's search.

NC State basketball coaching candidate Will Wade | Gabriel Mayberry-Imagn Images

It's no secret Will Wade is the widely preferred candidate to become the 21st NC State basketball head coach. But despite reported conversations between the Wolfpack and 42-year-old of late, there's still no guarantee he'll end up at the helm in Raleigh.

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Wade, who boasts a career 70.5 winning percentage across 11 seasons as a head coach spanning four schools, is fresh off guiding the McNeese State Cowboys to a second consecutive Southland Tournament title and currently looking forward to the March Madness Selection Show at 6 p.m. ET Sunday (CBS).

Meanwhile, without mentioning the NC State basketball job opening specifically during his sitdown with KPLC Sports' Matthew Travis on Saturday afternoon, Wade talked about his recently "hectic" slate and noted the importance of focusing on the excitement of the task at hand with his Cowboys:

"Hectic. Hectic. But look, it's all part of it. And you know, certainly, we had to handle some business on Thursday. But Friday, we were back at work, and I was at the high school state championship games. I was in the office here breaking down some stuff and went to dinner last night with my family.

Here's what Will Wade had to say about the past two days when I sat down with him this afternoon. "We're not going to short change this program one bit."

Extended cut to come later this evening on @KPLC7Sports at 6:00 with the full interview posted later tonight on our website pic.twitter.com/zdxrKyoZaz

— Matthew Travis (@MatthewJTravis_) March 15, 2025

"We're here today, and we're here for the duration. And so, we're not gonna shortchange this program one bit. We're gonna make sure that we finish this season off as well as we can. And then, whatever cards we've got at the end of the year, we'll figure out what we're doing.

"But you know, this is gonna be a fun, fun weekend and a fun, fun week next week. And we're fired up and ready to go and ready to represent McNeese and Lake Charles and all of Southwest Louisiana."

Former NC State basketball guard and current Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey is the other name still popping up in the Wolfpack's ongoing quest to secure its next leader following the firing of Kevin Keatts last Sunday morning.

Stay tuned to NC State Wolfpack On SI for more NC State basketball and football news.