Will Wade, world-class slimeball, is another former VCU coach who has gone on to bigger time, parlaying his two years at the Siegel Center to a five-year run at LSU, where he made at least one “strong-ass offer” to a recruit pre-NIL, on his way to a 108-54 record, and three NCAA Tournament appearances.
After getting bounced from LSU – consider that for a second: LSU, where if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin’, thought he went too far – Wade did a two-year penance at McNeese State, where he won 58 games, pulled a first-round upset of Clemson this past March, and landed at NC State, a year removed from the most improbable, and costly, Final Four run ever.
Wade is the perfect coach in the era that we’re in, which doesn’t say a lot about the era that we’re in.
I like the roster – he’s got five guys averaging double-figures that he can roll the ball out there for.
He also put together a decent nonconference schedule – VCU as one of the early-season home games, a trip to Maui, Kansas at home during the exam break, Ole Miss in Greensboro before Christmas.
The roster
Darrion Williams, a 6’6” senior, was a big acquisition off the portal, after scoring 15.1 points per game at Texas Tech last season.
Good all-around game for Williams – 14.2 ppg, 5.5 rebounds/g, 3.5 assists/g, 45.9% FG, 40.6% 3FG.
Paul McNeil, a 6’5” sophomore, is – shocker! – a holdover from the Kevin Keatts era.
The vitals: 14.2 ppg, 4.4 rebounds/g, 44.3% FG, 42.2% 3FG.
McNeil barely played for Keatts last season (8.7 minutes/g).
Huge miss there by the coach who ended up getting fired.
Qadir Copeland, a 6’6” senior, followed Wade from McNeese State, after two years at Syracuse.
Copeland in 2025-2026: 14.1 ppg, 5.9 assists/g, 58.0% FG, 54.2% 3FG, 5.1 free-throw attempts/g.
Copeland worries me.
Ven-Allen Lubin, a 6’9” senior, is at his third ACC stop – he started out at Notre Dame, before a year at Vanderbilt, then a junior season at UNC.
Lubin also scares me: 13.1 ppg, 7.1 rebounds/g, 68.2% FG.
Tre Holloman, a 6’2” senior, spent three years at Michigan State, where he was a bench guy for Tom Izzo, largely.
At State: 10.9 ppg, 46.2% FG, 44.3% 3FG.
Contributors:
- 6’6” freshman Matt Able: 3 ppg, 19.4 minutes/g, 40.6% FG, 32.1% 3FG
- 6’3” senior Alyn Breed:9 ppg, 15.5 minutes/g, 40.0% FG, 26.3% 3FG
- 6’10” freshman Musa Sagnia:6 ppg, 3.9 rebounds/g, 15.3 minutes/g, 64.0% FG
Analytics
Data: KenPom; rankings: among 365 D1 teams
Topline
- Offense: State-1.202 PPP (36), UVA-1.219 PPP (17)
- Defense: State-0.987 PPP (24), UVA-1.009 PPP (55)
- Tempo: State-71.2 possessions/g (76), UVA-67.9 possessions/g (244)
- Bench minutes: State-33.4% (177), UVA-37.1% (81)
Keys to Odom Ball
- Threes (offense): State-38.5% (24), UVA-37.5% (45)
- Threes (defense): State-32.0% (116), UVA-30.9% (72)
- Rebounds (offense): State-29.7% (217), UVA-40.9% (7)
- Rebounds (defense): State-74.3% defense (30), UVA-68.8% (190)
- Turnover rate (offense): State-14.6% (37), UVA-15.1% (62)
- Turnover rate (defense): State-19.8% (60), UVA-17.0% (198)
Game Details
Virginia (11-2, 0-1 ACC, NET: 31) at NC State (10-4, 1-0 ACC, NET: 32)
Time: 11 a.m. ET
TV: ESPN2 (Dave O’Brien/Jay Williams)
Forecast
- KenPom: NC State 80-77
- BartTorvik: NC State 80-76
- ESPN BPI: NC State +4.8
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Chris Graham
