As North Carolina State’s ACC tournament run came to an end Thursday, head coach Will Wade said he has every intention of getting his current program back to prominence and does not have an eye on his former job.
Wade, who was the head coach at LSU for five seasons through 2021-22, was asked if he would have any interest in returning to the Tigers. Current LSU head coach head coach Matt McMahon is on the hot seat after consecutive losing seasons.
“Is the job open there? No?” Wade said when asked if he had been contacted from anybody at his former program.
“Listen, let me be very clear: I’m excited at NC State,” said Wade, who is in his first season with the Wolfpack. “I was hired at NC State to do a job. This wasn’t going to take one year. I’ve already met with our administration about next year and some of the changes that we need to make and some of the things that we need to do to put this program where it deserves long-term.”
The Wolfpack have gone 20-12 overall and went 10-8 during ACC regular-season play. NC State earned a 98-88 victory over Pitt in the second round of the ACC tournament Wednesday, then lost 81-74 to Virginia on Thursday.
McMahon took over as LSU head coach in 2022-23 but has never posted a winning record in SEC play and has gone 3-15 in the conference each of the past two seasons.
Wade, though, reiterated that he is happy where his feet are planted.
“Look, we’re going to win and we’re going to win big at NC State,” Wade said. “That’s what we’re going to do. That’s what we’re going to do moving forward. We have the resources we need. We have what we need, and it’s on me and my staff to get the job done.”
The Wolfpack were 9-2 at the outset of ACC play before losing six of their last seven regular-season games. Projections still have NC State included in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, with the field set to be revealed Sunday.
“This year hasn’t gone exactly how we wanted it to, but we’re going to rally and we’re going to work hard and we’re going to have a team next year that’s ready to roll,” Wade said.
