NC State Wolfpack rolled to a 108-72 win over Texas Southern Tigers on Wednesday night at Reynolds Coliseum, but the scoreboard did little to ease head coach Will Wade’s growing frustration with his team.
While the Wolfpack dominated on the floor, Wade used his postgame press conference to deliver one of the most pointed critiques of his roster since taking over the program.
Wade made it clear early that the lopsided victory did not mask deeper issues he sees forming behind the scenes. His blunt tone reflected mounting concern about effort, and focus as NC State prepares to enter a demanding stretch.
“We're running a daycare…We're running a competitive basketball program,” Wade said, setting the stage for his comments. “And quite frankly, I've been trying to get some urgency and some internal leadership…We've got a lot of casual personalities on our team. We don't have people that are wrapped up and ready to go.”
He explained that his concern stems from a lack of urgency and accountability within the locker room, noting that too many players are relying on “casual personalities” rather than embracing leadership roles.
Wade’s frustration boiled over when discussing toughness, a trait he believes is missing from his current roster.
“I had one of the kids come to me, ‘oh, I'm tough,' you ain't tough… You wouldn't make the top 25 of the last five years of who I've coached,” Wade said, before delivering a sharp comparison to past teams.
The coach then detailed a startling example from shootaround earlier in the day, emphasizing how preparation issues continue to linger.
Wade explained, breaking down the errors across offensive execution, defensive coverage, and attention to detail. For Wade, the numbers symbolized habits that can’t survive once competition stiffens.
“We made 88 mistakes in our shoot around,” Wade added. “We made 23 defensive errors, 13 offensive execution errors. 36 errors on those. Our first team made 14, our second team made 22. How the h*** can you be on the second team and watch the first team do it and make eight more mistakes? You're running the same stuff, casual, lack of attention to detail, lack of focus.”
As the Wolfpack transitions fully into high-major play, Wade stressed that patience is wearing thin. “Kindergarten's over,” he said, underscoring that the margin for error is shrinking. He labeled the situation as more than just a concern, calling it “a major problem” given NC State’s upcoming schedule.
Ironically, Wade’s remarks came on a night when sophomore guard Paul McNeil Jr. delivered a historic performance, scoring 47 points and setting a school record with 11 three-pointers.
While McNeil’s breakout showcased the program’s potential, Wade’s comments highlighted a belief that individual brilliance won’t be enough and with Ole Miss Rebels looming, Wade’s message was unmistakable — NC State must quickly translate talent into discipline, toughness, and consistency.
