The NCAA Tournament moves to the Sweet 16 beginning on Thursday night, with four games before four are played on Friday night. Some great matchups could lead to some great games in college basketball‘s greatest tournament.
While all the focus is on the NCAA Tournament, there is no shortage of drama going around with teams that have had their seasons end. Several high-profile openings have rumors swirling. North Carolina and Kansas are the two biggest openings currently. Boston College is open, while some other jobs have been filled.
One job that opened up on Thursday was at North Carolina State. Will Wade is leaving Raleigh to return to LSU. If you listened to Wade following NC State’s elimination at the hands of Texas in the First Four last week, the writing was on the wall. It became official on Thursday when Wade reportedly signed a seven-year deal, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Wade lasted just one season at NC State. He leaves after leading the Wolfpack to a 20-14 record. After Wade left, athletic director Boo Coorigan spoke to the media on Thursday afternoon and didn’t beat around the bush about his feelings on how things went down.
NC State AD Boo Coorigan Rips Former Coach Will Wade
Coorigan hired Wade after he led McNeese to the NCAA Tournament last year, where they upset Clemson in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. However, it appeared at the end of the season that he wasn’t happy. Coorigan didn’t hide how he felt.
“I think Philip Rivers said it … the Wolfpack ain’t for soft people,” said Coorigan. “We’re going to go find a coach that understands who we are.”
This is going to be an interesting search, the second in two years that Coorigan needs to do. He is arguably the third program in the state of North Carolina behind Duke and UNC. You can make the case that they are ahead of Wake Forest, but there is a lot of ground to make up for the next coach. Coorigan made it clear what he’s looking for in his next hire.
“Today is going to be the end of Coach Wade,” added Coorigan. “We’re going to go find a coach, and then we’re going to celebrate the new coach and move forward.”
Will Wade Returning to LSU After Being Fired Four Years Ago
Who says you can’t go home? Not Will Wade. He was suspended during the 2019 NCAA Tournament and then fired in 2022 after several Level 1 NCAA violations. After sitting out a year, he returned to McNeese and, in two seasons, led them to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances as Southland Conference champs. He was then lured to NC State for a year.
Wade will replace Matt McMahon, who was fired on Thursday. Wade is leaving the ACC for the SEC, which is certainly a tougher and deeper conference from top to bottom. He’ll also be joining an athletic department that has Lane Kiffin as the Tigers’ football coach and Kim Mulkey as the women’s basketball coach. That’s a lot of outgoing personalities in one athletic department.
NC State Athletic Director Throws Former Coach Will Wade Under the Bus