The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534227
26 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY TIM PEELER ew NC State men's basket- ball coach Will Wade all but guaranteed a successful first season in 2025-26, a vote of self-confidence that rallied those in attendance at his in- troductory press conference March 25. "I want to be very clear," Wade said. "This is not a rebuild. We're going to be in the top part of the [ACC] next year, and we're going to the NCAA Tournament. "Make sure you have that on camera. This is going to be done quickly. We are here to win." If Wade comes through on that prom- ise, he will continue a string of first-year successes that began with Everett Case in 1946-47. Here's a look at how Case and his successors fared in their inaugu- ral seasons guiding the Wolfpack: EVERETT CASE 1946-47, 26-5 overall, 11-2 Southern Conference, regular-season and tournament champions, lost in second round of the National Invitation Tournament to Kentucky The athletics department changed its entire roster of wartime coaches and hired Case after he had previously coached at the high school level in Indiana. No one paid much attention to Case's team until a six-game post-Christmas road trip that was highlighted by a win over eventual 1947 national champion Holy Cross. After entering Southern Conference play at 9-2, the Red Ter- rors won 11 of 13 league games, claimed the first of six consecutive conference titles and were invited to play in their first postseason championship event, the National Invitation Tournament. PRESS MARAVICH 1964-65, 21-5 overall, 10-4 ACC, tied for second in regular season, ACC Tournament champions, lost in first round of NCAA East Region to Princeton Maravich was Case's hand-picked successor who had joined the program in 1962 as an assistant. He was sched- uled to become head coach for the 1965-66 season when his son, Brough- ton High School All-American "Pistol" Pete Maravich would enroll at NC State. However, Case's failing health forced him to retire two games into the 1964-65 sea- son, and Maravich took over nearly a full season ahead of schedule. The Pack finished tied for second in the ACC but was well behind top-10 Duke heading into the conference tour- nament. Still, Maravich and his squad pulled off three consecutive wins, in- cluding an upset of the No. 8 Blue Devils in the title game to win the school's fifth ACC title in 12 years. Pete never got his mandatory qualify- ing scores to enroll at NC State or any other ACC school, and both father and son left for LSU after the season. NORMAN SLOAN 1966-67, 7-19 overall, 2-12 ACC, eliminated in first round of ACC Tournament, no postseason tournament A former player under Case, Sloan was a natural to succeed Maravich. In his first 15 years as a head coach, Sloan had turned Presbyterian College, the Citadel and Florida into successful programs and N FIRST-YEAR COACHES HAVE SHINED AT NC STATE Jim Valvano went 14-13 in 1980-81, his first season at NC State. Of the nine men who have coached the Pack during the postwar era, eight have compiled winning records in their debut season. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS