Concerns From NC State's Exhibition Win Over South Carolina

On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, we address a few concerns from the Wolfpack's buzzer-beater victory over the Gamecocks.

Feb 1, 2025; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Paul McNeil (2) reacts to his point ball during the first half of the game against the Clemson Tigers at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

NC State showed the college basketball world its new identity under head coach Will Wade for the first time in an 88-86 exhibition win over South Carolina on Sunday. Sophomore guard Paul McNeil drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with seconds left on the clock to start the Wade era with an unofficial bang.

However, it was far from a perfect performance in some regards for the new-look Wolfpack. On this episode of the NC State Insider Podcast, host and lead beat writer Tucker Sennett takes a deeper look at some of the issues from the Pack's win over the Gamecocks and how they'll be addressed as the season gets underway in November.

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Watch the Episode

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Wade spoke to members of the media following the game. The first-year head coach discussed some of the issues his team faced against South Carolina and how the staff will address those issues as the season moves along.

Wade Partial Transcript

Oct 8, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; NC State head coach Will Wade answers questions from the media at The Hilton Charlotte Uptown. Mandatory Credit: William Howard-Imagn Images | William Howard-Imagn Images

From Wade's opening statement

• "I'm obviously happy to get the win. That was a huge shot by Paul (McNeil, Jr.) at the end. We've got a lot of work to do, as everybody can tell. I thought we were very aggressive, particularly to start the game and they sliced our defense up."

• "Our press was pretty poor, so we've got a lot of work to do. I appreciate Paul bailing us out there at the end."

PAUL MCNEIL JR GAME WINNER!!! pic.twitter.com/wZD3VzAErY

— NC State Men's Basketball (@PackMensBball) October 26, 2025

On dominating the final six minutes of the game

• "You want to be tough. We work on the six-minute games. We play those two or three times a week. We spend an inordinate amount of time on that because you're going to be in a lot of those, especially when you're playing other high-major teams or you're in conference."

• "... Our scrimmage, there was no six-minute game because the margin was a little bit different, so this was good to get some of that on film, but we've got to focus on what we do to make sure that we're not in those situations."

Mar 22, 2025; Providence, RI, USA; McNeese State Cowboys guard Quadir Copeland (11) reacts after a basket 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

On Quadir Copeland's performance and energy throughout the win

• "Everybody feeds off (Quadir's) energy, and he understands what it takes to win. He kept everybody calm, 'Hey, we're going to find a way to pull this out. We're going to find a way to do this.' Q is really mature and he's somebody that a lot of our guys look to to make sure that they get their confidence from him."

• "When he's confident and he's calm in those situations, a lot of our guys are, as well. I think that that's something that he feeds down to our players, and I thought that helped him quite a bit today."

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