Year One Impact: A Historical Review of NC State Basketball Coaches

What Does Regime Change Say About NC State Basketball—Past, Present, and Future?

Historically, coaching changes at NC State reveal little beyond the cyclical nature of hope and disappointment. If there’s any consistent message, it’s existential frustration—but beyond that, drawing firm conclusions is tricky.

Looking at the modern era—defined here as starting with Herb Sendek and stretching to the present—there’s a pattern, albeit a shaky one. With one glaring exception (Sidney Lowe), every new hire has brought some immediate improvement, as you’d expect from most coaching transitions—unless, of course, that transition was orchestrated by Lee Fowler.

Modern Era Coaching Transitions

*KenPom used unless noted; Wade’s rating is from Torvik due to KenPom’s delayed preseason release.

Both Gottfried and Keatts inherited messes and still managed to reach the NCAA Tournament in year one—no small feat. But the glow didn’t last: Gottfried left the program mired in NCAA scrutiny, and Keatts spent years using that as a shield for underperformance. Both were familiar, affordable hires—and both ultimately fizzled.

Will Wade, however, represents a new and very different chapter. This isn’t a Lee Fowler special. This is a bold shift—one that comes with NBA eyes in the building and an expectation of change that may be bigger than anything we’ve seen before.

The future? Still uncertain. But if history tells us anything, it’s that the beginning might look promising. It’s the next few chapters that matter more.