NC State basketball has gone from depressingly bad to earning positive national recognition in a matter of months, which is the kind of whiplash I can get behind. Will Wade landing Darrion Williams got everyone’s attention, and suddenly the Pack is worth talking about for the right reasons.
ESPN’s Myron Medcalf called Williams the best single addition of the portal season:
It is easy to forget just how close Florida was to missing its chance to win the national title. The Gators trailed Texas Tech by 10 points late in the Elite Eight before mounting a miraculous comeback over the final six minutes. Walter Clayton Jr. was the best player on the court in that game, but Williams was a close second. And you could make a strong case that Williams (23 points, 5 rebounds, 3 steals) was the most difficult individual matchup Florida faced in the NCAA tournament.
The versatile 6-foot-6 Williams is the anchor of Will Wade’s impressive recruiting class in his first season at NC State, giving the Wolfpack a legitimate star.
There are a couple more blurbs in that article about Wade’s squad as well. CBS Sports gave Wade an A for his work in the portal, the highest grade for any first-year coach. Also the hoops Twitter account keeps posting things like this:
Matt Able: Certified Hooper @iammattable | #GoPack pic.twitter.com/gdTUd840um
— NC State Men’s Basketball (@PackMensBball) June 11, 2025
Look at all the June we got in here! I’m gonna overdose if I’m not careful.