A New Era in North Carolina: The Issues and Expectations

After Head Coach Kevin Keatts, who was very successful, was fired NC State had to find someone new. Their selection was Will Wade, what can be expected of him?

Mar 24, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; The NC State Wolfpack mascot celebrates during the second half at James T. Valvano Arena at William Neal Reynolds. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

In 2024 the NC State Wolfpack made it to a NCAA Final Four for the first time in 42 years under the leadership of long time coach Kevin Keatts. Hardly one full year later, Keatts had already been replaced by first time NC State coach Will Wade who is believed to make the Wolfpack a stronger contender for a March Madness run.

With such a sudden change after many successful seasons, there had to have been reason behind his hiring and Keatts's firing, so what should be expected of Wade and what should be questioned?

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

Expectations

• Wade knows how to coach a good basketball team. Last year he took a relatively unknown McNeese team and not only pushed them to get into the March Madness tournament as a 12 seed, but to upset the four seeded Clemson in the first round.

• If he could do it then with McNeese he can do it again now with NC State.

• He also knew how to make a team consistent. In 2023 Mcneese had an amazing 30-4 record and a southland conference championship title. Such a dominant season could easily be written off as a fluke if they flopped the next year but they held their ground, finishing the 2024 season with a 28-7 record.

• Consistency such as what Wade has had is what the Wolfpack need, and is a major reason as to why he was brought in.

• Not only is he good at his job as a Head Coach should be, but he has experience in the higher, more competitive conferences based on his success with LSU. Set side to side with the ACC, the SEC is a notably difficult conference to be in and he had success there, meaning he is more than capable to have success with the Wolfpack.

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

Issues

• Unfortunately, not everything surrounding Wade is necessarily good for the Wolfpack, which is why some doubts still remain around him. The main issue is found in his scandal at LSU, where he made improper payments and did not report potential violations found on his team, leading to a question of his trustworthiness.

• Hopefully this should not be an issue with the Wolfpack since he has had to work hard to get back to a school of high caliber ever since he was fired from LSU and has not made the same mistake since then.

• It is unlikely that he would try to do anything improper now that he is back at a bigger name school knowing what the consequences looked like the first time; however, it's still something to keep in the back of any fans mind going into the 2025-2026 season.

Wade is still poised to be a great head coach now that his era is beginning in North Carolina, and great things are expected but yet to be proved. Only the full season will tell whether he is truly good for the Wolfpack or not.