Immediate Takeaways From Men's Basketball Media Day at NC State

On the latest episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, we fill you in on what happened at Wolfpack media day as the Will Wade era took another big step.

Feb 20, 2019; Raleigh, NC, USA; Basketball with the North Carolina State Wolfpack logo sits on the court during a timeout as the Wolfpack play the Boston College Eagles in the first half at PNC Arena. The North Carolina State Wolfpack won 89-80. Mandatory Credit: Nell Redmond-Imagn Images | Nell Redmond-Imagn Images

While the games don't begin until November, basketball season is officially underway for the Wolfpack. NC State men's basketball began its preseason practices Monday afternoon.

The 2025-26 season will mark the first under head coach Will Wade. After being hired from McNeese, Wade promised there wouldn't be a lengthy rebuild of the Wolfpack program, instead indicating he would ensure the team was competitive in his first season at the helm. To do that, Wade assembled a talented roster in the transfer portal, led by Texas Tech standout Darrion Williams and North Carolina transfer Ven-Allen Lubin.

Wade and the Wolfpack hosted a media day around their first practice, with Wade speaking about the state of the program as it embarks on its first journey with him leading the way. On the latest episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, hosts Tucker Sennett and Daniel Rios provide takeaways and insight from the media event.

Watch the episode here

Wade spoke at length about the state of the program, as discussed in the podcast episode. Below is a transcript of some of his statements regarding NC State men's basketball heading into the new season.

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the first half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

On his message about the roster to the Wolfpack fanbase

• Wade: "Man, I think I just said it. We're good. We've got a good team. A lot of coaches get up here and badmouth their teams. We're damn good... We're going to play hard. We're going to be fast and physical. We're going to get after you on both ends. We're going to be the aggressors on both ends. We're going to play for NC State."

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game against the Purdue Boilermakers at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

• "We're going to be consistent. That's the biggest thing. We haven't had the consistency around here. It's like you said, we're like the Dow Jones. We're up and down... like the stock market. We've got to be a consistent stock. There's small growth every but you know what you're getting."

On Quadir Copeland transferring from McNeese and his impact on the team

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; Purdue Boilermakers forward Trey Kaufman-Renn (4) and McNeese State Cowboys guard Quadir Copeland (11) fight for a loose ball during the second half of a second round men’s NCAA Tournament game at Amica Mutual Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images | Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

• Wade: "Quadir has been incredible. The biggest thing he does is he gives everybody confidence. When he's out there ... Now, he's talking a lot... I told the media staff we can't do the mic'd up with him or they're going to run out of bandwidth on whatever they're storing it in ... He gives guys confidence when he's playing with them."

• "He's grown so much. This time last year, he wasn't even in the rotation at McNeese. Now he's firmly in our rotation and going to play a major role and have a lot of responsibility for our team and our program. That's just his continual growth."