The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547338
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2026 ■ 39 BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN C State women's basketball head coach Wes Moore sat at a former player's wed- ding a few years ago when another player seated nearby asked him a question. He didn't know what to expect, bracing for nearly anything to follow. "You know what you always did well?" she asked Moore. "You always recruited players that liked each other." That moment, albeit small, has stuck with the 14th-year coach ever since. It pointed out a critical piece of Moore's roster-building ap- proach, and even though the transfer portal era has made teams more transient on an an- nual basis, it's still at the top of his list each offseason. After adding a trio of transfers and three freshmen to his squad with six returners going into the new season, Moore hasn't seen his key priority slip. It's become more difficult to do, but the veteran coach has seemingly mastered that aspect in creating top-25 teams that find ways to win in key moments. "What I love is I feel like our chemistry is really in a good place," Moore said of this year's team. "Ninety-five percent of the seasons I've coached, we've had great chemistry. I think that's important. I want to have a team that will play for each other and enjoy the journey. It's a long grind of a season, and you've got to have fun. I like where we are from that standpoint." NC State, coming off a season in which it won 21 games and made a second-round NCAA Tournament appearance, isn't TURNING UP TURNING UP THE THE HEAT HEAT An Undersized Wolfpack Will Lean On Speed, Pressure And Chemistry To Fuel Another Deep Postseason Run N Entering his 14th season at NC State, Wes Moore plans to use defensive pressure and a faster pace to maximize an undersized roster. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS