What Does NC State Coach Will Wade Want For Christmas?

RALEIGH — NC State finished its non-conference portion of the schedule with a solid 76-62 victory over Ole Miss in Greensboro on Sunday, moving to 9-4 on the season. The win saw four different members of the rotation score in double figures, including another six 3-pointers from sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr.

For head coach Will Wade, seven players were enough in the rotation in the final game before the team broke for the Christmas holiday. However, Wade knows he needs more from the lower part of his bench if NC State wants to make a run through the ACC. In fact, that's all he wants for Christmas.

Bring Wade an eighth man

Seven players were on the court for more than 20 minutes in the win over the Rebels, with freshman guard Matt Able and senior center Scottie Ebube adding another nine combined minutes off the bench as well. Wade has gone through different phases with the rotation and opted for a shorter bench in a game that NC State needed to win for the momentum of the season.

"We played seven guys, basically, today. I played the seven guys I feel most comfortable with, the seven guys that give me confidence, the seven guys basically that I trust," Wade said.

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At times, the Wolfpack looked like a team that could go eight deep, with valuable bench contributions from players like Terrance Arceneaux, Able and the combination of Alyn Breed and Tre Holloman, who have flipped in the starting lineup. However, the consistency in that eighth spot is lacking, causing Wade to turn to St. Nick for some help during the holiday season.

"Hopefully, Santa brings me an eighth man for Christmas. That would be nice," the coach said. "There was one year in my previous job... We came in second in the league, won a ton of games, and played six guys. We had four of the top five in minutes. We played our best player; he played 40 minutes for eight straight games to end the year. I've got no problem playing seven guys."

The tinkering and experimentation continued against Ole Miss. Ebube remained Wade's go-to option when his team needed a spark or some physicality. The coach is willing to ride the volatile big man for short spurts to help get more out of the rest of his group.

"We played Scottie (Ebube) a little bit," Wade said. "But we need an eighth guy to step up, and that starts with practice, allowing us to trust you in practice, and then, when we put you in the games, producing in the games."

The two players who make the most sense as options to step up are Jerry Deng and Arceneaux. The latter showed flashes, scoring double digits in multiple games and offering Wade a quality guard option for defense. However, the message for that duo was simple from its head coach: Be more consistent, and practice better.

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