NC State basketball coach Will Wade summer press conference
N.C. State basketball coach Will Wade covered several topics during a summer press conference on July 9, including the roster, NIL and schedule.
Six of the eight transfer players participated in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, with three reaching the Elite Eight and one playing in the championship game.Quadir Copeland and Tre Holloman have emerged as vocal leaders during summer workouts.
There’s a common characteristic among the key players N.C. State basketball welcomed via the transfer portal in Will Wade’s first offseason as leader of the Wolfpack.
Of the eight newcomers, six experienced the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Three of those players made it to the Elite Eight and one – Houston transfer Terrance Arceneaux – advanced to the Final Four and played in the national championship game.
“All things being equal, we’re going to tilt toward the guys who have won,” N.C. State coach Will Wade said during his summer press conference on July 9.
That’s something the Wolfpack didn’t experience much of last season, finishing with a 12-19 record that included losses in 15 of its 20 ACC games and led to being left out of the conference tournament.
So, Wade and his staff added Arceneaux, Michigan State transfer Tre Holloman, Texas Tech transfer Darrion Williams, UNC transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, and brought along Alyn Breed and Quadir Copeland from McNeese State.
When asked about the intent with N.C. State’s roster construction, assistant general manager Patrick Stacy reiterated the need to elevate that winning element for the new era.
“The intent was, obviously, getting a lot of guys that won at a high level. And everyone that went out there on the floor, they made their team better. So, a big thing that we look at is the on-off margin when they’re on the floor,” Stacy said.
Stacy continued to elaborate on the influence of the incoming transfers, noting what they were able to accomplish at their previous stops.
“So, looking at guys that impact winning in different ways, it’s not always going to be points per game or assists or rebounds,” Stacy said. “It’s going to be, ‘OK, well, when they’re on the floor, in their possessions that they get, how efficient are they, how efficient does the team produce? I think we filled out the roster with a lot of winning guys. … We have a lot of winners. We wanted to build that.”
So, as the summer months soon shift to fall and preseason practice, which of these players have emerged as alphas for the Wolfpack during workouts?
“If you’ve just got one frontrunner every week, you’re probably not that good of a team,” said Joseph Anderson, the Wolfpack’s director of player development.
But two voices have risen above the rest as players at the point of attack for the Pack.
NC State basketball’s Quadir Copeland has history with Will Wade
For those familiar with Quadir Copeland, a 6-foot-6 guard from Philadelphia, it comes as no surprise that he has become one of the loudest voices for the Wolfpack.
“Copeland is definitely an alpha, just because his personality is very effective,” Anderson said.
Copeland carries himself on the court in a similar fashion to how Wade works from the sidelines.
“I think that’s why they get along,” Anderson said with a smile. “Coach gets him. Coach gets on him.”
A two-year player at Syracuse before joining Wade and the Cowboys last season, Copeland had 25 points in a win at N.C. State in 2024. He let anyone within hearing distance at the Lenovo Center know what he was doing to the Wolfpack that night.
“Having a voice like a Quadir Copeland, there’s a player who has a big personality, who’s going to back up and talk a lot of stuff that also fits him very well,” Wolfpack assistant coach Vernon Hamilton said with a laugh.
Wade said the Wolfpack remains in the “forming stage right now,” as it relates to leadership, but Wade mentioned Copeland because “he knows what we’re doing” as a player familiar with Wade’s program.
“He understands things. He’s been around. He’s loud anyway. He’s had a good voice with what we’re doing. I’ve been very pleased with him,” Wade said.
“One of the reasons I brought – he’s a good player, I don’t want to minimize that, very good player – I also knew he could translate what I’m doing right to everybody else: ‘Look, this guy’s a little nuts, but hey, here’s what happens. This is how it’s going to work.’ He’s been able to do that. That’s almost by default because he’s been around. He knows what we’re doing.”
Michigan State transfer Tre Holloman ‘head of snake’ for Wolfpack?
Like Copeland, Tre Holloman comes from a program where players have to learn to deal with a coach known for his loud, easy-to-hear voice who often says things that aren’t easy to hear. That’s standard for a captain of Tom Izzo’s Spartans. Anderson says the 6-foot-2 senior guard possesses “that alpha” attitude.
“Tre is going to be the head of the snake,” Hamilton said. “Personality-wise, it’s like, ‘Hey, this is the message I want delivered to the team.’ ”
Stacy believes Holloman’s move from the Big Ten to the ACC can be similar to Chucky Hepburn’s transition from Wisconsin to Louisville, where Hepburn became the ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
“Tre Holloman, he’s a kid that can come in and be an impact starting point guard in the ACC,” Stacy said.
While Copeland and Holloman possess two of the strongest voices in the locker room, Anderson sees “alphaness” throughout the roster at a different, business-like level.
“Darrion’s just about his business. Lubin’s just about his business. But there’s alphaness,” Anderson said.
I think (freshman guard Matt) Able has the potential to be an alpha. … I just kind of harp on learning and being an alpha in whatever role Coach (Wade) gives you. But I think (Able’s) got a chance to be an alpha.”
Each of those new additions want to bring a winning mentality while proving they can be consistent contributors for a program trying to regain its traction as a consistent NCAA Tournament participant and contender.
“We feel really good about our ability to get our guys better and have our guys that have proven it come in here and produce,” Stacy said.
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.