How will McNeese State's Will Wade handle being huge Clemson fan if he takes NC State job?
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Coach Will Wade said McNeese State's first-round March Madness victory over Clemson basketball will rank high in his career.
The No. 12 seed Cowboys upset the fifth-seeded Tigers on Thursday, winning 69-67 at Amica Mutual Pavilion. McNeese State (28-6) will face No. 4 Purdue in the second round Saturday (12:10 p.m. ET, CBS).
"I don't want to be a prisoner of the moment and just say, 'Oh, it's the best win,' but it's close to one if it ain't one," Wade said Friday during his NCAA tournament availability.
Wade said beating Clemson didn't make the win sweeter even though it was against his and assistant coach Vernon Hamilton's alma mater. Wade graduated from Clemson in 2005 and spent three seasons on former Clemson coaches Larry Shyatt and Oliver Purnell's staffs. Hamilton played guard for Clemson from 2003 through 2007 and served as a graduate assistant under Tigers coach Brad Brownell from 2014-16.
Wade ended Clemson basketball's season, but he bleeds orange and purple for its football program. So much so, he doesn't allow his team to practice on Saturdays when Clemson plays because he has to watch the games.
"They got these three hours on a Saturday," Wade said Wednesday. "They all know. They joke with me about it."
When McNeese played LeTourneau, a Division III program, in the afternoon on Dec. 7, its game fell on the same day of Clemson faced SMU in the ACC championship. The high-stakes game altered McNeese's pre- and post-game schedule.
"Took them too long to kick the damn field goal," Wade said of kicker Nolan Hauser's game-winning 56-yard field goal.
'THIS HURTS': How Clemson basketball proved unready for March Madness in upset loss to McNeese State
Wade is so tapped into Clemson football that he followed its huge recruiting weekend earlier this month when it landed seven commitments in the 2026 class, including six four-star recruits. He isn't critical of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney though, acknowledging how difficult coaching is. Still, that doesn't stop his nerves from getting to him when watching.
Although Wade is a fan of Clemson's football program, he said Friday Swinney didn't reach out after McNeese's win. Still, many of Wade's college friends sent messages before and after the bracket-busting win.
Wade's Clemson football adoration may get dicey as he is reportedly in line to join the ACC as NC State's next coach. He did not deny the report either during a postgame interview on the Field of 68 podcast after Thursday's win.
"Half the kids I recruit, the goal is to go Power 5 after this year, and some of you guys can go with me," Wade said. "We all know what's up."
Wade is a coaching tactician, showcasing his ingenuity against Clemson by unveiling a modified 2-3 zone defense he said McNeese hasn't played all season. Cowboys guard Quadir Copeland said the scheme was something the team learned earlier in the season but never knew when Wade would enact it.
"They are very aggressive, but there's a method to their madness," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "They play very hard. They have rules to what they're doing."
Wade has reinvented himself with McNeese, helping it reach back-to-back NCAA tournaments. He had made March Madness in four straight seasons, excluding 2022-23 when he was out of coaching, dating back to his tenure at LSU.
Wade has worked on rebuilding his image to be a potential candidate this offseason for other basketball jobs after LSU fired him in 2022 after five seasons. He was fired after receiving a two-year show-cause penalty by the NCAA amid the school receiving a Notice of Allegations stemming from multiple rules violations after a federal corruption investigation into the sport. He also had to serve a 10-game suspension in his first season with McNeese State.
Wade isn't shy about talking about his future but hopes to continue McNeese's magical run with another upset win Saturday.
Derrian Carter covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at dcarter@gannett.com and follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DerrianCarter00
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Will Wade: McNeese coach likely headed to NC State is huge Clemson fan
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