Wade Ready For Trip Down Memory Lane Against VCU
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RALEIGH — In college football, people often think of northern West Virginia as the coaching cradle, producing leaders like Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher, Fielding Yost and John McKay. In college basketball, a few similar factories for coaches exist, but there might not be one stronger than Virginia Commonwealth University.
As NC State (3-0) prepares to face VCU, first-year head coach Will Wade will get a chance to reflect on his time with the Rams, both as the head coach and as an assistant on one of the most recognizable Cinderella NCAA Tournament runs back in 2011.
Wade was Shaka Smart's first hire at VCU in 2009 after he spent time with Tommy Amaker at Harvard as an assistant. He stayed until 2013, before leaving for his first head coaching opportunity at Chattanooga. Eventually, Wade made his way back to Richmond and became the head coach at VCU for two seasons from 2015 to 2017.
After nearly a decade, an FBI investigation and stints at two different schools, Wade's path is set to cross with the Rams once again, as NC State welcomes VCU to the Lenovo Center on Monday.
Fond Memories
Wade led the Wolfpack to its third victory of the 2025-26 season against a former member of the VCU staff, Mike Jones, who became the head coach of UNC Greensboro. Jones and Wade were both key members of the 2011 Final Four staff. With the win over Jones and the matchup against VCU up next, memories flooded Wade's brain. All of them are fond.
"At the time, I loved VCU. I loved my time there. I was too eager to leave like everybody else had left there," Wade said. "It's a great program, great place... It's an incredible basketball spot."
Wade, like Smart and numerous others, cut his teeth in Richmond. The Rams quietly became one of the nation's strongest and most notable mid-major programs and their web of influence spans all across the sport. Just in the ACC, Wade and Virginia head coach Ryan Odom shared the experience of leading VCU. Back at ACC Tipoff, Odom spoke about what made the program in Richmond special.
"I think there certainly is some secret sauce and I think it's just the care they have for the program," Odom said. "The investment obviously is important, but the community there really supports VCU and I think it's really helpful in continuing that tradition."
Wade doubled down on his opinion that he shared with Odom privately after the UNCG game. He truly believes VCU's strength is in its culture rather than the coaches that come through the program.
"I was thrown into the fire. I replaced the best coach there of all time. Took them to the Final Four and I was just trying not to screw it up," Wade said. "They gave me the keys to the Ferrari and said, 'Drive fast. Don't put this thing in a ditch,' so I was just trying to keep that bad boy between the lines."
He didn't drive the Rams off the road; instead, he amassed a 51-20 record in his two seasons. He led VCU to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments, winning a game in the opening round in the 2016 tournament.
Went to VCU with no direction or purpose, and was lucky to stumble into my purpose & passion. I was going through one of the toughest times in my life, and was extremely naive, but I was learning from the absolute best.
— Brandon Chambers (@chambershoops) October 7, 2025
The common coaching cliché is, "I got really lucky", etc.,… https://t.co/xi4bVHBIIz
"Anybody can win there," Wade said. "They could hire any of y'all and you can win there. They've got the support. It's a big-time spot and so they'll be ready."
Jones also spoke after his team fell to Wade and fondly recalled the time he shared with Wade at VCU. Even at such a young age, he could see that the future for Wade was going to be very bright.
"I think Will was the youngest guy on our staff at VCU. Just to see where he is now and in charge of a program like this is really impressive. But he was always super smart," Jones said. "It was a competition, who was smarter, him or Shaka? And they each thought that they were."
Full Circle Moment
Wade's path was a wild one after his time in Richmond. He became the young, fiery face of LSU basketball before being fired for recruiting violations that would now be an afterthought. He rebuilt his reputation by leading McNeese State of the Southland Conference to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances, just as he did with VCU. He stripped everything down and rebuilt himself.
On Monday, he'll have a chance to compete against a program that helped forge who he is, not just as the NC State men's basketball coach, but as a man. When he took over at VCU, he was in his early thirties, still trying to make a name for himself. Now, he's the hottest commodity in the ACC, putting a bullseye on his team with every confident postgame remark along the way.
"It's a big game as we start to try to build a resume that's distinguishable from other folks," Wade said.
The Pack, still undefeated, will undoubtedly be on high alert with the Rams coming into town, as nobody knows the storm coming into Raleigh better than Wade. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 P.M. EST at the Lenovo Center.
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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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