Men’s basketball head coach Will Wade has been on fire on the mic this season, delivering gems like “hope is a bad strategy in my book” and “kindergarten’s over.”
Early in the season, he declared that his players should be alert and aware, if not strong and physical.
“We’re still none of the four,” he said after a blowout win in December.
Whatever Wade thinks of the team in its current state, let’s look back on some of his most powerful and motivating quotes. Or at least, quotes.
5. “Never accept in winning what you wouldn’t in losing.”
Will Wade, or Sun Tzu? Wade dropped this bar after the team scraped by South Carolina in a preseason exhibition, and he has lived by it so far this season. He criticizes the team as much after sloppy wins as after losses. Even if you subscribe to the “whatever works” philosophy, you have to respect Wade’s commitment to emphasizing the process over the results.
4. “It’s like reading a coloring book — so easy to read. We just got some guys like that, who are easy to read. It’s disappointing but kinda who we are.”
Whether or not it’s even possible to read a coloring book, the metaphor is damning. After a disastrous loss to Miami, where NC State blew a 7-point lead in the final minute, Wade had few nice things to say about his players. They responded by blowing out North Carolina, so maybe there’s something to this kind of motivation.
3. “We got a great team GPA, we got all that stuff … It’s wonderful, if we’re running a daycare.”
All this educational imagery makes you wonder if Wade’s basketball players are enrolled in another school on the side. Wade himself has a degree in secondary education from Clemson and runs the program “like a teacher,” with PowerPoint presentations before practice and a leadership class throughout the season. These kinds of pointed admissions come with every loss, so the team has surely learned a thing or eight about tough love.
2. “The other school was too dumb to play him … I don’t know why the hell they didn’t play him.”
This quote – concerning senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin – came with a projection about his stats were he to play 28 minutes a game, something he only did a handful of times for his former team, UNC-Chapel Hill. This is fiery, takes aim at a rival program and suggests an actionable approach to a perceived problem: 9/10. One point is docked because NC State is only 8-7 in games where Lubin plays 28 or more minutes.
The internet was quick to notice the lackluster results of the More Lubin pilot program, but the spiteful words at its heart will live on.
1. “Blood is red, not blue.”
Speaking before the season started, Wade delivered a challenge to the established programs in basketball, the blue bloods. This simple but true five-word sentence is as much a promise to NC State’s fans as it is a punch at its Triangle neighbors. Having beaten North Carolina after losing to Kansas, the Wolfpack’s remaining contest against No. 3 Duke will settle the final score. Results aside, this is an all-time quote — relevant, succinct and worthy of T-shirts for years to come.
Whether powerful, motivating or just plain controversial, NC State’s head coach has a mouth like few others. And this selection is only limited to his time in Raleigh, let alone his experience with FBI wiretapping as the head coach at LSU. With at least five games left to play this year, there’s a chance that the true number-one quote is yet to come.
