NC State’s Identity Crisis on Full Display Against Miami
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RALEIGH — During his weekly appearance on the "Wolfpack Weekly" radio show, NC State coach Will Wade bemoaned his team's ongoing issues with identity on the basketball court. With a physical Miami team up next for the Pack, those problems were amplified and at the front of the coach's mind during the preparation for the game.
Minutes after the Hurricanes knocked off Wade and the Wolfpack by a point in the Lenovo Center, the identity issues officially became a crisis, at least in the public's eyes. NC State led by seven with just over a minute left in the game, but crumbled, allowing an 8-0 run to end the game. For Wade, it was the crescendo of a building problem.
'We're soft'
I asked Will Wade how he'll get over NC State's 77-76 loss to Miami.
— Kate Rogerson (@KateRogersonTV) February 15, 2026
His response: "This doesn't sit well with me." pic.twitter.com/Qqjpw7DGYU
The coach described his team as a "jump-shooting team" during the radio hit on Thursday. The Wolfpack shot 49% from the field, making 9-of-24 shots from 3-point range. It fit the mold he cast for it. After the 77-76 loss, he added another superlative after the group lost to Miami, which built its collective personality around toughness, rebounding and physicality.
"We're soft. We're a jump-shooting team. That's just who we are as a group," Wade said. "I'm not saying we've got soft players, but that's who we are as a group... And I've had to embrace that. Miami, they have an identity. They're going to bludgeon you in the paint. They're going to be physical."
Throughout the year, the Wolfpack leaned on impressive 3-point shooting numbers, big runs and turnover luck to reach its 18-8 record. While the style of play looks fluid and beautiful when it's working, it's not sustainable, especially in the eyes of Wade. Watching Miami forward Malik Reneau pound his team inside for 26 points and four offensive rebounds affected the Wolfpack coach.
"Reneau... That's what it's supposed to look like," Wade said, before repeating it another time when asked about the offensive rebounding issues.
NC State's push in the second half happened in large part due to scoring inside, something the team didn't do successfully in the first 35 minutes of the game. However, the final collapse exposed the Pack's lacking toughness, something Wade took full responsibility for.
"We have no identity. That's an indictment on (me)," Wade said. "We have no identity outside of making jump shots. That's a bad, bay way to have to play. We gave up 26 offensive rebounds against Pittsburgh. We gave up 20 offensive rebounds today. Tuesday, they'll be able to pick how many offensive rebounds they get. Just pick a number out of thin air and go get it."
To face a team also led by a first-year head coach in Jai Lucas with such a clear understanding of who they are at this point in the season hurts for a coach like Wade. In the past, Wade's teams have been frenetic, defensive-oriented groups that create chaos and thrive on it.
"For me, we always base our game off of three things: points in the paint, offensive rebounding and winning the free-throw battle," Lucas said after the win. "We were able to offensive rebound and match our second chance points with our offensive rebounds, 56 points in the paint."
Miami plays the way it wants and imposes its will on the opposition. While some might argue that NC State is more versatile and can compete in different ways, that is more a product of inefficiencies and the overall lack of an identity. Lucas plainly laid out what the Hurricanes wanted to do after the game. His team executed. Wade's team did not, something that is more ordinary than surprising in his eyes.
Early in the season, Wade said that his team needed to have obsessive attention to detail if it wanted to have success. That messaging never got through to the Wolfpack throughout the 18-8 start, leaving him at something of a loss.
"I kind of rode the wave when we were winning. It really wasn't what I wanted to do... But I knew when we started playing tougher competition, that stuff doesn't work," Wade said. "When you play tough, physical teams, that stuff doesn't work... Hopefully, they'll realize that some of what we say is that when you get in these games, all that stuff makes a difference. We have very poor attention to detail."
Two straight losses have the Wolfpack on the ropes, moreso than it's been in the entire 2025-26 season. Wade said his team would be lucky to be playing in the First Four in Dayton. While the situation isn't that dire, there's a clearly deep issue with the fabric of this NC State roster. That's unlikely to change so late in the year, but the talent level remains high. The Pack will get its chance to address the identity crisis head-on against its bitter rivals, the UNC Tar Heels, on Tuesday.
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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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