The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 ■ 33 season matures and will probably be much better in 1948." Case did something that was unusual back in that day by scheduling December games against strong military and semi- pro teams because none of the other colleges in the area began their seasons before New Year's Day. He didn't do the military-style training that Wade did with his current squad to bond his play- ers together, because every one of them had participated in some military train- ing during World War II. Case didn't know what to expect when he took the patchwork team to his Mid- western home for a six-game tour during the Christmas and New Year's holidays to get it some playing experience. "We are coming along OK, I guess," Case said before leaving on a train bound for Washington, D.C., followed by a transport plane to Indianapolis. "The boys are evenly matched, but they are playing together for the first time, you must remember, and it may take a little time for us to start rolling." The Terrors won all six of those games, including a 58-42 victory over eventual national champion Holy Cross. By the time they returned to Raleigh, the mili- tary veterans on campus were obsessed with their new heroes, who local media began to call the "Hoosier Hotshots," since so many of them came from Case's home state. All seats in the 4,000-capacity Thompson Gym went to the enlarged student body — which had grown by 10 times since the end of the war — with no tickets available to faculty, staff, alumni or local fans. Only a few of the mostly mar- ried students were allowed to bring their wives as dates. The regular-season home finale against North Carolina was canceled by the Ra- leigh fire marshal because of too many fans in the stands. "We will play some basketball," Case told the Greensboro News & Record's Smith Barrier. "How many games we'll win, I don't know. But then, who does?" The answer was 26 games, which still stands as a school record for first-year men's basketball coaches. The Terrors not only won their first Southern Conference title since 1929, but they also qualified for the school's first national tournament appearance. Initially, the Pack was invited to the less relevant at the time eight-team NCAA Championship, but they elected to play in the more prestigious National In- vitation Tournament at Madison Square Garden in New York. After beating Frank McGuire's St. John's squad in the opening round, NC State pulled the assignment of facing defending NIT champion Kentucky, led by Case's nemesis Adolph Rupp, in the only head-to-head faceoff in the careers of the two legendary mentors. Playing for the right to go to the title game, the Wildcats claimed a 60-42 victory. The two coaches became embroiled in a bitter feud in the years that fol- lowed, in part because Rupp reneged on his promise to come to Raleigh for the first game in Reynolds Coliseum, and in part because of the NCAA district selec- tion committee's decision to send Case's team to the 1950 NCAA Tournament in- stead of Kentucky. Case and Rupp bad-mouthed each other for the rest of their coaching ca- reers, especially on the recruiting trail. In The End … Case's Hotshots fared pretty well in his first 10 seasons, winning six Southern Conference titles from 1947-52, qualify- ing for the 1950 Final Four and winning the first three ACC titles from 1954-56. It really wasn't until he and his program tried to navigate the NCAA's unenforce- able "Sanity Code" from 1948-51 and then the free-for-all actions that fol- lowed when rules were enforced arbi- trarily that Case's program began to find disfavor. Case ended up on the wrong side of that battle in 1954, '55 and '57, with three NCAA investigations and probations. The last of those was a four-year ban on postseason play because of the re- cruitment of Louisiana sensation Jackie Moreland. How will Wade's "Portal Pack" do in his first season? Well, even though the NCAA is in a reset that everyone is still getting used to, there is optimism in Raleigh. The season opener was sold out for the first time since the Lenovo Center opened in 1999, and season tick- ets, mini-packs and single-game sales moved briskly. Just like Case going into his first sea- son, Wade has no idea what the outcome will be. Heading into it, though, there is optimism that his quick building process can produce the results he promised on the day he was hired. ■ First-Year NC State Coaches' Records Coach Season Record Everett Case 1946-47 26-5 overall, 11-2 Southern Conference Won the Southern Conference title, lost in the semifinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Press Maravich 1964-65 21-5 overall, 10-4 ACC Tied for second in the regular season, ACC Tournament champions, lost in the first round of the NCAA East Region to Princeton. Norm Sloan 1966-67 7-19 overall, 2-12 ACC Eliminated in first round of the ACC Tournament, no postseason appearance. Jim Valvano 1980-81 14-13 overall, 4-10 ACC First-round loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, no postseason. Les Robinson 1990-91 20-11 overall, 8-6 ACC Semifinal loss to Duke in the ACC Tournament, second-round loss to Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament. Herb Sendek 1996-97 17-15 regular season, 4-12 ACC Lost in the ACC Tournament final to North Carolina, lost in the second round of the NIT. Sidney Lowe 2006-07 20-16 overall, 5-11 ACC Lost in the ACC Tournament final to North Carolina, lost in the third round of the NIT to West Virginia. Mark Gottfried 2011-12 24-13 overall, 9-7 ACC Lost to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament semifinals, lost to Kansas in the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. Kevin Keatts 2017-18 21-12, 11-7 ACC Third overall in the ACC, lost to Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament, lost to Seton Hall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Will Wade 2025-26 TBD Predicted in the preseason to finish fourth in the ACC regular-season standings. Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.