Three months is all it took for Wade to take a jab at the Wolfpack’s biggest rival, North Carolina, more specifically, the Tar Heels’ coaching staff.
Wade, who took over the Wolfpack program in March, received a massive commitment from former UNC forward Ven-Allen Lubin, who bolted Chapel Hill for Raleigh.
OK, massive might be a stretch, considering Lubin played about 19 minutes a game for North Carolina, averaging 8.7 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
Even in today’s transfer portal climate, a move from one rival to another is noteworthy.
Wade voiced his excitement about landing Lubin by not mixing words at North Carolina and head coach Huber Davis for not playing Lubin more last season.
“The other school was too dumb to play him,” Wade said in a recent podcast.
“When he (Lubin) plays 28 minutes plus, he averages about 15 points and eight rebounds. I don’t know why the hell they didn’t play him, but we’re going to play him, so he’s going to average 15 and eight.”
Lubin is the definition of a journeyman college basketball player.
When he steps on the floor for the Wolfpack this upcoming season, it will be his fourth team in as many seasons.
Lubin began his career at Notre Dame, transferred to Vanderbilt, then to UNC before the transfer to State.
But with his fightin’ words aimed at the rival, Wade might be precisely what the ACC needs.
College basketball once thrived on prominent personalities and intense rivalries.
The ACC was once the leader on both fronts.
I’ve covered ACC Basketball for more than 40 years, and the coaches have always been the prominent personalities. The players came and went, but the league’s coaches were the mainstays.
NC State had Norm Sloan, or “Stormin’ Norman,” as he was known.
Sloan was known for being an intense competitor and, at times, a very outspoken individual.
Sloan, like Wade, was also known as a coach who pushed the boundaries of recruiting regulations.
Rules violations regarding the recruitment of David Thompson impacted his time at NC State.
Sloan’s 1973 team was ruled ineligible for the NCAA Tournament despite posting an undefeated season.
Yikes.
Ann Holland, wife of the late Virginia coach Terry Holland, tells the story about Terry naming the family dog Dean, “because he whined a lot.”
Dean Smith and Terry Holland had one of the most intense coaching rivalries in the ACC.
Smith was famous for staying in the locker room often just minutes before the opening tip.
Having a few last cigarettes.
With Lefty Driesell of Maryland, the most crucial question on press row was, how long it would take Driesell to remove his sports jacket and proceed to stomp on it.
When Driesell brought his team to University Hall, the student section often wore skinhead masks with a fuel gauge that pointed at empty.
Driesell was brash, colorful and unapologetic.
Driesell was Driesell.
There are numerous new coaches in the ACC for the upcoming season. I’m not sure just who might give Wade a run for his money when it comes to stirring the pot, but I do know this: by calling the UNC coaching staff dumb, Wade has set the bar pretty high.
Share
