It was, for the most part, a waiting game.
New NC State coach Will Wade held a Zoom call with Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, a 6-foot-6 senior forward and former All-Big 12 First Team selection, shortly after Williams entered the portal in early April. Then the 22-year-old turned his attention to the NBA Draft process.
During that time, Wade and Williams exchanged a few texts per week, but that was it. Wade didn’t have a great read on the situation and was quite nervous, given how highly his staff thinks of Williams. “On our metrics, he’s the number one transfer in the country,” Wade told Hoops HQ. “He’s a phenomenal player.”
Williams averaged 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 steals last season while shooting 43.9 percent from the field and 34 percent from three. He helped lead Texas Tech to one of its best seasons in program history, as the team finished 28-9 (15-5 in the Big 12) and made a run to the Elite Eight. With 20-plus points in three of four NCAA Tournament games, Williams was named to the West All-Region Team.
After Williams withdrew from the NBA Draft on May 21, everything moved quickly. He took visits to NC State and Kansas within the week. Wade felt better about his chances, but he was still unsure. Then, a day after his visit to Raleigh, Williams called to deliver the incredible news that he was committing to the Wolfpack.
“It was one of those deals where we did the initial Zoom and just kind of hung in there, hung in there, hung in there, and then boom!” Wade says. “I tried to contain my excitement when he told me. I don’t often get excited in recruiting. After I got off the phone, we were very excited.”
There has been plenty for Wade and his staff to be excited about over the past few months. Williams’ commitment was one of many offseason wins for the Wolfpack.
Wade was hired in mid-March following two seasons at McNeese State. During his time there, he guided the Cowboys to a 58-11 record and back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. NC State had just stumbled to a 12-19 year and parted ways with Kevin Keatts, who was at the helm for eight seasons. When Wade arrived, he expressed the utmost confidence that the Wolfpack would turn things around right away. “This is not a rebuild,” he said at his introductory press conference. “We’re going to be in the top part of the ACC next year and we’re going to the NCAA Tournament. Make sure you got that on camera. This is going to be done the right way, and it’s going to be done quickly. We are here to win.”
Since then, Wade has assembled a roster more than capable of delivering on his promises. In fact, NC State has a very solid chance to open the 2025-26 season ranked in the top 25.
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As the offseason got underway, Wade and his staff first exercised patience. They were wary of acting impulsively, which schools are prone to do given the chaotic nature of the portal. Two players chose to follow Wade from McNeese: 6-foot-6 senior guard Quadir Copeland and 6-foot-3 senior guard Alyn Breed. Copeland started 24 of 35 games for the Cowboys and averaged 9.2 points (on 48.8 percent shooting), 4.5 assists and 3.3 rebounds. Breed, who spent three years at Providence prior to McNeese, appeared in just two games before suffering a season-ending knee injury, but he registered 18 points against South Dakota State and 17 points against Alabama.
The initial moves a program makes tend to dictate how the rest of its offseason will unfold. In NC State’s case, the first domino to fall — outside of Copeland and Breed — was Michigan State transfer Tre Holloman, a 6-foot-2 senior guard. Holloman averaged 9.1 points and 3.7 assists for the Spartans last season. “Trey was the first one to come in and get the ball rolling,” says Wade. “He was the first one to kind of put himself out there for us and we’re very appreciative. None of this would have happened without him… He knew we were probably going to get some other pretty good players, but he had the guts to step out and do it when it wasn’t overly popular.”
With Holloman on board, NC State received commitments from four more players over the next two weeks: 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman forward Colt Langdon (Butler), 6-foot-6 junior guard Terrance Arceneaux (Houston), 6-foot-9 junior forward Jerry Deng (Florida State) and 6-foot-11 freshman center Paul Mbiya (international). About a month later, the Wolfpack signed both Williams and 6-foot-8 senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin (North Carolina), who averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in his last 11 games with the Tar Heels.
The program’s stellar transfer class, which Hoops HQ ranks among the top 15 in the country, will join a solid crop of freshmen headlined by Mbiya and 6-foot-5 guard Matt Able, a consensus top-30 prospect out of The Sagemont School in Tampa, Florida.
Amid the recruiting process, Wade specifically targeted players from winning teams. Holloman, Williams and Arceneaux all advanced to at least the Elite Eight last season, with Arceneaux appearing in the national title game. Lubin, Copeland and Breed played in the NCAA Tournament as well. “It’s important that you have guys who have tournament experience, who have won and who understand what winning is and what goes into winning,” Wade says. “I think it’s really imperative that you don’t overlook that, because winning is a habit and losing is a habit. You’re trying to turn around a losing habit, so it makes sense to bring in guys who are winners.”
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As he did at McNeese, Wade also sought out “guys who have an edge to them,” he explains. “Guys who have a chip, guys who have some resiliency and have overcome some stuff. We’re very interested in everybody’s stories and how they ended up here. That part’s always interesting to us. And there are certain markers within that where we feel like it increases the probability of success.”
The end result is a roster loaded with talent, experience and versatility. Teams coached by Wade have historically thrived on defense, and this group has the potential to do the same. It is also full of unique offensive weapons, beginning with Williams. Wade envisions his new centerpiece playing more guard than he did at Texas Tech, which should give him the opportunity to showcase his passing ability.
The staff has very high hopes for Arceneaux, who averaged just 17.5 minutes per game while with the Cougars. “If you look at his advanced metrics, they are off the charts,” Wade says. “I think that Arceneaux is going to make as big a jump as anybody in college basketball this year. He’s going to be phenomenal for us. He was somebody that we were really, really excited about.”
The excitement in Raleigh has steadily grown since Wade’s hiring, culminating with the signings of Williams and Lubin in late May. Overall, the Wade era is off to a tremendous start. The program’s offseason has confirmed what Wade daringly proclaimed to the media nearly three months ago.
This is not a rebuild. NC State is here to win now.
