Takeaways and intel from NC State basketball’s first official practice of the Will Wade era

NC State coach Will Wade walked into the Dail Basketball Center film room with a certain swagger about himself. He’s always confident, but as he spent nearly 40 minutes talking about his first-ever Wolfpack roster moments before its first official practice of the fall, Wade oozed conviction in the roster-building work.  The Pack signed the No. 3 portal class, according to EvanMiya, headlined by Texas Tech's Darrion Williams, Houston's Terrance Arceneaux and Michigan State's Tre Holloman, among others. As the experienced collegiate players were paired with the No. 13 high school recruiting class and sophomore guard Paul McNeil, Wade’s seemed to believe in his squad. After all, he did say he thinks the team will be back in the NCAA Tournament in his late-March introductory press conference. And it seems like the Wolfpack’s head man is confident in what he has going into a critical six-week practice period ahead of the season opener against NC Central on Nov. 3 inside the Lenovo Center.