Will Wade Stirs The Triangle Pot
This may be the start of a beautiful relationship
We’ve been talking a bit during the off-season about what it would mean for the Triangle Basketball dynamic if Will Wade took NC State past UNC and the Tar Heels fell to third place in the local pecking order.
As we’ve mentioned before, the last time this happened was the early 1960’s before Dean Smith established his program.
We don’t know yet if that will happen this coming season, but Wade has definitely stirred things up with his comments about Ven-Allen Lubin’s transfer from UNC to NC State.
This is already a sore point for Carolina fans, who were in disbelief that a UNC player - any UNC player - would leave Chapel Hill for Raleigh.
And what did Wade say? Well, this:
“You know, the other school was too dumb to play him. When he plays 28 plus minutes, he’s done that in 23 games, he averages 15 and eight. I don’t know why the hell they didn’t play him, but we’re going to play him.”
What’s striking to us about this is first, Wade isn’t scared to throw a little shade at UNC. He’s clearly very confident in himself and his team’s potential.
Secondly, this is a direct shot at Hubert Davis. Traditionally around here, you don’t want to to aggravate UNC’s coach. This was 100% true for Dean Smith, not as much so for Bill Guthridge, not at all true for Matt Doherty - who cared? - and then true again for Ol’ Roy Williams, who was a tremendous coach with a bit of an anger management issue.
Davis has had his moments in Chapel Hill, but he’s also been highly erratic and not just when it comes to winning games. He’s managed to lose several really good players like Caleb Love, Ian Jackson, Elliot Cadeau and most recently, Lubin.
What Wade did is really interesting. He sort of threw down the gauntlet to all of Chapel Hill and made it clear that he’s not at all scared of Hubert Davis and his program. He also put even more pressure on Davis, who may, despite his contract extension, be feeling a certain amount of pressure.
We’ll be interested to see how he addresses Duke. The Blue Devils are on a higher level than State or UNC and we’re quite sure that Wade will want a piece of Duke soon too.
In the meantime, watching Carolina histrionics over this whole business is going to be a hoot. And there’s also this: whatever you think about Wade and the relationship between the programs and fan bases, he’s livened things up in the Triangle. And in the end, that’s going to be a good thing - even if it drives the Tar Heel faithful crazy.
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- N.C. State basketball coach Will Wade says UNC was ‘too dumb to play’ Ven-Allen Lubin
- Will Wade takes shot at UNC, Hubert Davis over Ven Allen Lubin: ‘The other school was too dumb to play him’
- Will Wade Doesn’t Hold Back on UNC Coach Hubert Davis With Critical Message
- ‘Too Dumb To Play Him’ – Will Wade Blasts UNC in Fiery Rant Over Ven-Allen Lubin
- Will Wade’s Potshot at Hubert Davis Over Ven-Allen Lubin Makes Him No UNC Friends as Local Rivalry Heats Up
- Will Wade already criticizing Hubert Davis’ ability to properly utilize his players
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