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'We’re going to play the best': What Will Wade’s scheduling approach might look like at NC State

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•04/03/25•

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Will Wade
Nov 11, 2024; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; McNeese State Cowboys head coach Will Wade gives instructions to his players from the bench during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images

As Will Wade stood at the podium during his NC State introductory press conference inside Reynolds Coliseum, he wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion on who his Wolfpack squad might play against in the coming years.  “I like to compete against the best, I don’t care who’s coaching the other team,” Wade said, alluding to the retirement of Hall of Fame coaches in the ACC over the last few years. “We want to compete.” Sure, there’s no Mike Krzyzewski, Jim Boeheim or Roy Williams (and the list can go on and on) roaming the sidelines in the league anymore, but Wade is hungry to pit his teams against the best quality of competition. Yes, Duke is likely a top-10 team going into next season, but the rest of the conference is an unknown going into the 42-year-old’s first campaign in the ACC.  So what does that mean for Wade’s scheduling approach? It seems he’s going to search out the best competition to play against — even if it means building one of the best non-conference schedules in the country.