RALEIGH \u2013 The first regular-season game of the Will Wade era managed to perfectly blend the history and tradition of the NC State program that fans so adore with a dominant on-floor product that looked like the present and future of the game.<\/p>\n
The Wolfpack wore throwback jerseys, the vintage red-and-white State ones the program wore during its national championship glory days. They brought the old noise meter out of Reynolds Coliseum. In a pregame video, Wade posed just like Jim Valvano, the last Wolfpack coach to win a men\u2019s basketball national championship and still a revered figure for NC State faithful.<\/p>\n
And then NC State unleashed a decidedly modern version of basketball on NC Central, unloading a barrage of 3-pointers from each position \u2013 and tied a\u00a0 school record with 19 3-pointers \u2013 while collecting more than a dozen steals in a 114-66 rout of the Eagles.<\/p>\n
It was the first sellout for an NC State season opener since 1999, the first game in the arena.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not going to wear those jerseys every home game, but I think it\u2019s important that we do wear them, and our guys understand,\u201d said Wade, who convened regular meetings with NC State staff since his arrival to coordinate year-round basketball marketing. \u201cWe\u2019ve had somebody from each different era, the last month, speak to our team every week to talk about the history of NC State basketball, what NC State basketball is all about, and I think it\u2019s important to have an understanding of that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell our guys all the time, we drink from a good well, but don\u2019t forget there\u2019s a lot of people that dug it. There\u2019s a lot of hard work that went into making this program what it is, a lot of our people that dug that well, and we\u2019re drinking pretty good water right now. So let\u2019s not forget that. Let\u2019s tie into the past. Shoot, we won a lot of championships in the past. I don\u2019t know why we wouldn\u2019t want to bring those memories back.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019ll take a few months before we\u2019ll know if Wade will deliver on his promised reckoning and restore the Wolfpack to the upper rung of the league standings. But, as has been the case since his introductory press conference seven months ago, Wade hit all the right notes Monday.<\/p>\n
And, as importantly, his team appears more than capable of backing up his grandiose talk. NC State went on a 13-0 run midway through the first half to take command and extended its lead to as many as 58 points late in the second half.<\/p>\n
Seven players scored in double figures, led by Darrion Williams (19 points). Five players made multiple 3-pointers. Four players had multiple steals. Wade\u2019s first team lacks dominant height \u2013 zero blocks against NC Central \u2013 but appears capable of doing just about everything else.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey got so many pieces,\u201d said NC Central coach Levelle Moton, pointing to the difference in rosters in college athletics name, image and likeness era.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Moton said NC State has a $12-million roster and his is zero. NC Central didn\u2019t opt into revenue sharing under the House settlement, which allows schools to share up to $20.5 million with athletes.<\/p>\n
Wade assembled an almost completely new roster \u2013 nine transfers, four freshmen and two holdovers. Many of the transfers came from winning programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWinning DNA,\u201d Moton said.<\/p>\n
Williams, a transfer from Texas Tech and the ACC preseason player of the year, had eight assists and four rebounds. He made four 3-pointers. He scored 11 of the team\u2019s first 13 points to set the tone \u2013 or \u201cthe thermostat,\u201d as Williams said Wade instructed him.<\/p>\n
Paul McNeil Jr., a rare holdover from Kevin Keatts\u2019 roster, had 16 points and four 3s. Tre Holloman, a transfer from Michigan State, had 15 points, four 3-pointers and three steals.<\/p>\n
Quadir Copeland, who came with Wade from McNeese State, had 15 points and made his only 3-point attempt. Freshman Matt Able had 14 points (three 3-pointers), six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Jerry Deng, a Florida State transfer, had 12 points, including two 3-pointers. Ven-Allen Lubin, a transfer from North Carolina, had 10 points, including the first two of the Wade era on a dunk.<\/p>\n
NC Central\u2019s decision to play zone left the Wolfpack open for many 3s. But the team is likely to average more than 30 per game, Wade said. Last year\u2019s team made 6.7 3-pointers per game (286h in the nation), shot 21 per game (254th in the nation) and made just 32.2% (286th in the nation).<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got good shooters,\u201d Wade said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to let that thing fly. If they\u2019re open, man, we don\u2019t want any hesitation. Let it fly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wade, who was on the officials from the opening tip, got a technical foul with his team up 53 points. Musa Sagnia, a freshman from The Gambia, picked up his fifth foul in just four minutes of gametime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe technical, as much as anything, was, look, I\u2019m still fighting, I\u2019m still here, I\u2019m still paying attention to everything,\u201d Wade said.<\/p>\n
Though the crowd thinned out in the second half \u2013 perhaps fans were still recovering from Saturday\u2019s football upset of previously unbeaten Georgia Tech across the parking lot at Carter-Finley Stadium \u2013 it was never louder than when the Eagles missed back-to-back free throws with just under eight minutes left in the second half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Free chicken sandwiches for everybody.<\/p>\n
And then Williams drained a 3 on the next possession.<\/p>\n
“When they shoot this basketball like this,\u201d Moton said, \u201cit\u2019s going be some long nights for a lot of teams, not only North Carolina Central.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contact or follow Brian Murphy:<\/p>\n
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