There’s a new sheriff in Raleigh, North Carolina — Will Wade.

“It’s going to be a reckoning for the ACC,” Wade said. “It’s going to be a reckoning for college basketball, and it’s coming, and it’s coming soon.”

Change is in the air for NC State men’s basketball with Wade at the helm. After decades of longing for consistent success, Wolfpack fans might finally get just that. During his opening press conference in Reynolds Coliseum, Wade made it clear that consistently winning big is the new standard in Raleigh.

With the transfer portal open for business, there’s never been this much opportunity to win immediately. Wade understands this and is ready to assemble a talented squad now. Not winning in a couple of years, not building for down the road, but winning on day one. For Wade, that starts by flipping the roster.

“We’ve got everything we need to compete and win,” Wade said. “We’ve got everything we need to attract the best players in the country, and starting tomorrow morning, that’s what we’re gonna go do.”

That’s a very different tune from what Wolfpack fans are used to hearing. No excuses, no deflecting — just a goal and a plan to get to work.

With the goal of bringing in the best players, Wade will almost certainly be selective about who he brings to Raleigh. Talent has to be there, but equally important is finding the right people. NC State is a destination for Wade, and he expects his players to treat it as such.

“I want the people in our program to be thankful to be at NC State,” Wade said. “We’re not bringing anybody in — a player, a coach, anybody — that doesn’t feel like this is the best place in the country and that doesn’t feel like we can win extremely big.”

Additionally, players have to play Wade’s style of basketball: aggressive. If you watched any of Wade’s games at McNeese State, then you know his teams almost always outhustle their opponents. There’s truly no passive element to a Wade basketball team.

“We’ll play aggressive offensive, aggressive defensively,” Wade said. “We’re not gonna prime the pump in the morning. They’re gonna be ready to go, and they’re gonna play extremely hard to represent our university extremely well.”

Another defining aspect of Wade is his confidence. Never shy about his expectations, Wade won’t back down, and neither will his players. Surrounded by college basketball blue bloods in Duke and UNC while playing in the most storied conference in basketball, it takes a special level of confidence to succeed in the Triangle. Fortunately for the Wolfpack, Wade has it, and his players will reflect that.

“We’re going to talk like a top team,” Wade said. “We’re going to act like a top team, and most importantly, we’re going to win like a top team.”

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. The same thing applies to basketball teams. With the right mixture of talent, attitude and success, NC State can be a top team under Wade.

One key to Wade’s success will be using the resources at his disposal properly. Any coach needs money to win in college basketball, but equally important is using that money properly. Misallocating resources to bring in the wrong players can sink a program. While he may not have had the most resources at McNeese State, he maximized everything he had. Expect the same in Raleigh but with a lot more resources.

“We’re going to be competitive, at the upper end of this league and we’re going to be competitive nationally with our NIL package and our revenue sharing,” Wade said. “This is about being able to efficiently build a very, very good basketball team.”

NC State fans have always been serious about basketball. Now that the program is aligned with the fanbase’s expectations, Wolfpack basketball will look different from what many fans are used to. The vision for NC State’s basketball under Wade’s leadership is clear: to be at the top of college basketball every single year.

“We cannot wait to get started to build a consistent winner,” Wade said. “That’s consistently at the top of the ACC, consistently in the NCAA Tournament and consistently competing for the National Championship here at NC State.”