How NC State coach Will Wade approaches the transfer portal

By Noah Fleischman

Will Wade has a reputation of being an elite recruiter. It was on full display during his time at LSU, where he signed three top-26 classes, including the No. 3 group in the 2018 cycle. 

Wade inked four top-60 recruits in that class, headlined by Naz Reid and Emmitt Williams. It was a splash around the nation, signaling that the Tigers were serious about basketball. And eventually, it paid off with three NCAA Tournament appearances in his five seasons, with that recruiting cycle proving to be key in Wade’s turnaround in Baton Rouge, La.

But even though Wade has been able to recruit the high school ranks throughout his entire career — he signed De’Riante Jenkins, the No. 40 recruit in the 2016 class at VCU — the coach has also proved to utilize the transfer portal to his advantage. 

That will be key at NC State, where Wade is set to be introduced on Tuesday afternoon as the program’s 21st coach. The 42-year-old will be tasked with revitalizing a Wolfpack squad that earned just five ACC wins without any victories outside Raleigh this past season. He will have at least four open scholarships at his disposal.

What does Wade’s transfer portal process look like? How was he able to find success at McNeese, a program that had 23 losses the season before he showed up, to make two straight NCAA Tournaments in the blink of an eye? 

It’s all about finding who fits his program, both from a production standpoint and a personality fit. McNeese had nine transfers in Wade’s first season, the ultimate turnaround, while he brought seven more in ahead of this past season to replace those that exhausted their eligibility. The team didn’t miss a beat with a 17-1 Southland Conference record.

Wade’s transfer portal approach is thorough, fitting for the analytical mind that leaves no stone unturned in finding the right players for his teams. It starts with a deep-dive report from an analytics staffer on every single player that enters their name in the NCAA’s database.

Those reports are sent to Wade and his assistants in batches of upwards of 40 at a time for them to filter through. Transfers have a proven track record — or not — against Division I talent, so it doesn’t leave too much of a mystery for what to expect on his team.

It doesn’t matter what school they were at before. If the player can perform, Wade is interested. 

“That’s how you find guys that we have here that are ‘steals or value players’ in the portal,” McNeese assistant Brandon Chambers told TheWolfpacker.com. 

Once they have the report on what the player can do, it gives Wade and his staff a starting point. From there, they can dive into who each transfer is as a person and if their personality and work ethic would match the staff’s. 

That includes talking with the prospective transfer, his family and coaches he has played for in the past. Wade is a tireless worker, one who lives basketball 24/7. His staff has to find recruits who will be able to thrive in a tough-love environment that pushes to get the most out of his teams. 

“We do things very differently than most,” Chambers said. “We’re everyday guys. It’s not for everyone. … There’s gotta be a fit and a feel that we look for. If you don’t love basketball, it’s not a place for you. We’re 100 percent basketball, 100 percent of the time.”

After going through that intense process, the transfer portal pool is usually whittled into a workable list. From there, the staff works based on what skill sets it needs to acquire. That’s how Wade and his staff found Tari Eason, who averaged 7.3 points and 5.9 rebounds at Cincinnati before he transferred to LSU. In his only season with the Tigers, Eason posted 16.9 points with 6.6 rebounds to become the 17th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. 

While Wade is an analytical coach with every move having a statistical reason behind it, his recruiting prowess is where he thrives in the transfer portal. He’s used to pursuing the top talent in the nation, and that’s no different when it comes to experienced collegiate players. 

Once the 11-year coaching veteran identifies a good fit for his program, his pursuit of those players is unmatched. He’s a persistent caller, usually reaching out once a day, making sure his targets know they’re a priority. 

For Quadir Copeland, a Syracuse transfer who was McNeese’s star point guard this past season, Wade’s consistent phone calls were what kept him interested in the Cowboys. 

And they weren’t even recruiting phone calls, most of the time, either. Instead, he wanted to build a genuine relationship with the former Orange bench standout.

“I feel like his best attribute wasn’t really even recruiting, he was just calling some days telling me how I could fit, but when he would call, he was just checking on you,” Copeland said. “Just making sure my mind was straight. … He did his part of actually being a coach and a good person.”

Wade’s approach has paid dividends wherever he has been, never posting a losing season with eight 20-plus win campaigns. Now, he will be tasked with replicating his success at NC State, a program where he believes he can win a national championship. The first step? Working the transfer portal to his advantage once more.