What Jon Scheyer Thought About NC State

RALEIGH — Following his team's 29-point loss to No. 1 Duke, NC State coach Will Wade showed honesty about how far his Wolfpack rebuild is when compared to the Blue Devils. The Pack is in the early stages of a makeover under Wade, who took big swings and made bold claims during the offseason, many of which he hasn't been able to live up to so far. There's still time.

Jon Scheyer has the Blue Devils flying about as high as they possibly could be, but he knew the Wolfpack would provide a challenge to his talented bunch. Wade continued to earn the respect of the competition, even as his group continued to struggle across the regular season finish line. Why? Because coaches like Scheyer know NC State is in the right hands.

Defense wins the day

Alyn Breed and Patrick Ngongb — Mar 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack guard Alyn Breed (7) drive to the basket against Duke Blue Devils center Patrick Ngongba II (21) during the first half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

After the Wolfpack dropped an ugly game to Notre Dame, allowing the Fighting Irish to score 96 points in the process, Scheyer and his staff knew Wade and the Wolfpack would try some different things on Monday when the Blue Devils arrived in the Lenovo Center. The Pack did just that, throwing a unique defense in an effort to keep players on the floor and force the Blue Devils to shoot 3-pointers.

"Coach Wade ... He's a really good coach and we knew we could see some different things tonight," Scheyer said. "They went zone and I thought we did a really good job of handling that. Not right away, but our guys really worked through it."

Cameron Boozer and Quadir Copeland — Mar 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Duke Blue Devils forward Cameron Boozer (12) guards NC State Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland (11) during the second half at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The Blue Devils understood that the engine that makes the Wolfpack go is Quadir Copeland, the fiery point guard capable of taking games over with his 6-foot-6 frame, impressive finishing and brilliant passing ability. Duke held him to an inefficient 11 points and took away a lot of his options with frenetic defense, handicapping the NC State offense through most of the game.

"He's a unique player from the standpoint that he has good size and really passes," Scheyer said. "Dame (Sarr) did a terrific job of keeping him in front and making him work for everything, but also we switched. I thought some of that took away his passing. ... He had some finishes, but I thought he had some finishes over the top and he had to work for it."

Mar 2, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; NC State Wolfpack head coach Will Wade reacts during the first half against the Duke Blue Devils at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Zachary Taft-Imagn Images | Zachary Taft-Imagn Images

The standard for the two programs is vastly different at this point. However, Wade learned just how far he needs to go to reach a level of competitiveness with the Blue Devils. Once the 2025-26 season comes to an end, he'll go to work on trying to level the playing field as much as possible.

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