How Fixing Spacing is Helping NC State's Shooting
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RALEIGH — Through 22 games under head coach Will Wade, NC State men's basketball is beginning to form an identity, at least for the 2025-26 season. The Wolfpack turned itself into a high-powered offensive juggernaut, ranking amongst the top scoring offenses in the ACC after several dominant performances shooting the basketball.
Wade always expected 3-point shooting to be a strength for the Wolfpack, but he knew it required some work to turn NC State into the team it's just now rounding into. Chemistry and comfort between key distributors like Quadir Copeland and talented 3-point shooters like Quadir Copeland helped catapult the Wolfpack into position as the nation's 7th-best perimeter shooting team.
As simple as spacing
When Wade arrived in Raleigh, he and his staff scrambled to quickly retain Paul McNeil and bring in several centerpiece transfers for the 2025-26 season. Because of that mad rush to build a competitive roster in year one, there were lots of new pieces to the puzzle for Wade to put together and turn into a productive team, particularly on the offensive end.
There were several talented 3-point shooters brought in, but they were not totally in sync early in the season. The Wolfpack showed flashes of being a brilliant team from the perimeter in games against NC Central (47% from 3-point range) and UNC Greensboro (50%), but struggled to knock down threes against top-level defenses in the two losses at the Maui Invitational.
Can't leave one of the best transition corner shooters in the game open... pic.twitter.com/KxKRpopuIr
— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 31, 2026
Playing together more helped the Wolfpack create some familiarity. Point guard Quadir Copeland started to distribute the ball more effectively once the calendar flipped to January and the ACC schedule got started. For Wade, the changes are fairly simple from a basketball standpoint.
"Some of the spacing. We had some spacing issues early and our spacing has been better," Wade said. "Our guys have a better sense of where everybody is, where our movements are on the drives. It's unique. Most guys haven't played out of this. We kind of back (Copeland) and Darrion (Williams)... So there's some unique spacing when that happens."
Wade referred to the team's unique "porch" action, in which Williams and Copeland operate as the primary distributors with their backs to the basket. The pair can hunt their own offense while also looking to spray passes out to players like McNeil, Tre Holloman and Terrance Arceneaux, or dump it down to Ven-Allen Lubin down low.
"We still don't have everything right, but there's a lot that goes into that," Wade said. "It's not something that's natural, unless you played with (Copeland), you wouldn't be used to the spacing and playing that way... I think just guys getting a better sense of the spacing and where everybody is going to be has been helpful."
Since the start of ACC play, the Wolfpack is shooting 42.1% from 3-point range, good for the best mark in the conference. While those numbers are impressive, NC State hasn't faced the elite members of the league yet. Wade knows that more than anyone, but still believes his team hit its offensive stride at the right time.
"We're on a better trajectory than we were three weeks ago," Wade said. "I don't think we've peaked... I think that there's a lot more in there."
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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