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NC State trolls Will Wade in social media post from Justin Gainey press conference

Danby: Daniel Hager04/01/26DanielHagerOn3

Shortly after Justin Gainey‘s introductory press conference at NC State wrapped up on Wednesday, NC State Basketball trolled former head coach Will Wade on social media.

After just one season at NC State, Wade shocked the college basketball world last week when he returned to LSU to replace former head coach Matt McMahon. Where Wade had no prior history with NC State before taking the job, Gainey played for the program from 1996-2000 and was an administrator from 2006-2009.

“Someone who takes pride in the name on the front of the jersey!”, NC State Men’s Basketball tweeted.

Wade had been linked to LSU for the entirety of the 2025-26 season, as the Tigers were once again struggling under McMahon. These rumors placing Wade back in Baton Rouge intensified last week, and it ultimately resulted in the Nashville native returning to his former program. This frustrated many around the NC State program, leading to the troll and a hire of one of their own.

It’s safe to say there is certainly no love lost between Wade and the Wolfpack following this dilemma.

Justin Gainey returns to NC State 17 years after departing program

As for Gainey, the High Point native had rose to prominence as an assistant on Rick Barnes‘ staff at Tennessee across the past five seasons. In that span, the Volunteers made three trips to the Elite Eight and won the SEC Tournament in 2022. After what went down with NC State and Will Wade, hiring a highly respected alum (who was once the program’s administrative coordinator and director of operations) seemed like a no-brainer.

“To the Wolfpack nation, I can already feel your passion, your pride, your determination to win at the highest level, and I share that with you, I really do, and I’m excited,” Gainey said at his press conference on Wednesday. “I’m excited, man, more than you can believe to be here. And I promise you, we’re going to build this program that reflects your energy, your toughness and your commitment. We will compete every single day to represent this university in the best way it possibly can, every single day. And you have my word on that.”

Gainey will look to return the Wolfpack to consistent success, as they have made the NCAA Tournament just three times in the past eight seasons. Two of those appearances resulted in a one-and-done showing for the Wolfpack, while the other resulted in a Cinderella run to the Final Four (2024).