NC State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach

NC State officially announces hiring of McNeese’s Will Wade as new Wolfpack men’s basketball coach

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — N.C. State has made it official: McNeese’s Will Wade is the Wolfpack’s new men’s basketball coach.

The school announced the hiring Sunday, coming a day after Wade’s McNeese team lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

An introductory news conference for Wade is scheduled for Tuesday, capping a week in which Wade was unusually open about his conversations with N.C. State compared to coaches typically deflecting questions or playing word games when asked about other jobs.

In that regard, the eventual hiring — who has signed a six-year deal — has been an open secret for days. The contract is pending approval from the university trustees.

Now N.C. State and athletic director Boo Corrigan finally have their man.

“Will told me that he believes that he can win at NC State … and ‘win big,”‘” Corrigan said in a statement from the school. “It didn’t take me too many conversations with him to believe it too.”

Wade’s second NCAA Tournament run in as many seasons with the Cowboys ended Saturday with a second-round loss to Purdue, which came two days after a first-round upset of his alma mater, Clemson. Wade’s two-year tenure in Lake Charles, Louisiana, marked a successful climb back after being fired at LSU in 2022 because of allegations of recruiting violations. Those were rooted in a federal corruption investigation in college basketball that became public in 2017, with N.C. State among the multiple schools entangled in that probe.

The N.C. State job will present a new challenge. It comes in the Atlantic Coast Conference in a time of transition for the tradition-rich league, with numerous long-time coaches — North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim, Virginia’s Tony Bennett, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, Miami’s Jim Larranaga and Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton — all exiting in the past four years amid a rapidly changing college landscape.

There’s also the tough-neighborhood dynamic of building a winning program in the Triangle region in North Carolina, where UNC, Duke and N.C. State — boasting a combined 13 NCAA championships — share the 919 area code and are all within a half-hour’s drive of one another.

But the 42-year-old Wade is clearly undeterred by that with a track record that includes eight 20-win seasons in his 11 years as a head coach.

“I am beyond excited and honored to be chosen to lead the Wolfpack basketball program,” Wade said in a statement. “N.C. State’s rich tradition, passionate fan base, and location in one of the best cities in the country make this a destination job and I can’t wait to get started.”

Wade replaces Kevin Keatts, who was fired after eight seasons on March 9. That came less than a year after Keatts guided N.C. State to its first Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament title since 1987 and its first Final Four trip since the late Jim Valvano’s “Cardiac Pack” did it in an improbable 1983 NCAA title run.

Keatts had guided N.C. State to three NCAA bids and had the program in position for another when the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of March Madness in 2020. But the Wolfpack went 12-19 this season to kill any lingering buzz from last year’s remarkable run.

That ultimately led the school to move on from Keatts even though he was under contract until April 2030, putting N.C. State on the hook for roughly $6.9 million in base salary alone. And it marked a reset for the program, down to how it handles finances for roster construction with players able to profit from their athletic fame and revenue sharing set to start nationally next season.

Wade’s first head-coaching job was a two-year stint at Chattanooga from 2013-15, followed by two NCAA bids in as many seasons at VCU before leaving for LSU in 2017. The peak of his tenure with the Tigers came in his second season, with LSU winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season title and reaching the Sweet 16.

He returned to the sideline after his LSU exit at McNeese in 2023, with his tenure beginning with NCAA penalties that included a 10-game suspension to open his first season. But the Cowboys teams went on to win 58 games in two seasons, a rapid climb for a program that had won just 56 games combined in the five seasons before Wade’s arrival.

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires prompt evacuations and an emergency declaration in the Carolinas

Wildfires forced a mandatory evacuation in one North Carolina county as emergency crews fought separate fires in an area of the state still recovering from Hurricane Helene, while South Carolina’s governor declared an emergency in response to a growing wildfire.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety announced a mandatory evacuation starting at 8:20 p.m. Saturday for parts of Polk County in western North Carolina about 80 miles (129 kilometers) west of Charlotte.

“Visibility in area will be reduced and roads/evacuation routes can become blocked; if you do not leave now, you could be trapped, injured, or killed,” the agency said in a social media post.

The public safety department said a shelter had been established in Columbus, North Carolina.

The North Carolina Forest Service’s online wildfire public viewer indicated three active fires in Polk County, with the two largest spanning between 1.7 square miles (4.4 square kilometers) to 1.9 square miles (4.9 square kilometers). Two other fires were active in nearby Burke and Madison counties, with a third wildfire burning in Stokes County on the northern border with Virginia.

In South Carolina, Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency Saturday as part of an effort to stop a blaze in Pickens County called the Table Rock Fire that started the previous day in an area within the Blue Ridge Mountains.

“As this wildfire continues to spread, the State of Emergency allows us to mobilize resources quickly and ensure our firefighters have the support they need to protect lives and property,” McMaster said in a statement that reinforced a statewide outdoor burning ban issued Friday by the South Carolina Forestry Commission.

Local fire officials called for voluntary evacuations Saturday of some residents near Table Rock Mountain, the forestry commission said in a social media post.

The Pickens County Sheriff’s Office posted an update late Saturday saying crews had ceased operations and would resume Sunday morning with ground personnel and machinery and assistance from helicopters and air tankers. The fire was about 110 acres (45 hectares) and the public was asked to avoid state Highway 11.

North Carolina’s western region already had been hit hard by Hurricane Helene in September. Among the extensive damage, flooding washed away more than a mile (1.6 kilometers) of eastbound lanes on Interstate 40 leading to eastern Tennessee and remained partially closed to traffic until March.

The hurricane damaged or impacted 5,000 miles (8,046 kilometers) of state-maintained roads and damaged 7,000 private roads, bridges and culverts in North Carolina.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service, meanwhile, has been battling a wildfire that broke out in the Wharton State Forest on Saturday. The fire had consumed about 2.7 square miles (7 square kilometers) as of early Sunday morning. Firefighters had contained about half of the blaze according to an 8 a.m. update on the service’s Facebook page.

Emergency officials said they have evacuated two campgrounds in the park. Eighteen buildings were near the fire but the flames were moving away from them and no structures had been evacuated.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Melba Toast

Melba Toast

Melba Toast

Photo by Getty Images

Melba Toast Recipe from NeihborFood

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Serving size: 30 servings

Ingredients

  • 30 slices bread (sliced very thin)
  • 2 sticks high quality salted butter
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
  2. Spread a thin layer of butter on both sides of each slice of bread. If you’d like the toasts to be in smaller, uniform pieces, cut it into squares or triangles at this point. Otherwise, leave it whole.
  3. Line the slices up on a few baking sheets, and place in the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes then flip the slices the over. Continue to bake for another 15-25 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and very crisp.
  4. Allow the toast to cool, then either leave it whole and use for dips, avocado toast, or crostini OR crumble the bread to use as a topping for soups and salads.

Note:

  • Any flavor of bread can be used for this recipe, but I am partial to Pepperidge Farm’s Very Thin Sliced White Bread.
  • Feel free to experiment with other seasonings, like garlic powder, ranch, or cayenne.
March 23rd 2025

March 23rd 2025

Thought of the Day

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Yes, give myself a good cry if you need it, but then concentrate on all good things still in your life.

Easy Taco Dip

Easy Taco Dip

Easy Taco Dip

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Easy Taco Dip Recipe from Sugar Spun Run

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: N/A

Serving size: 10 servings

Ingredients

  • 16 oz (455 g) brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 2 cups (450 g) sour cream
  • 4 Tablespoons (30 g) taco seasoning (this is a 1 oz packet of premade taco seasoning or you can use your favorite homemade recipe)
  • 1 cup finely chopped lettuce
  • 4 Roma tomatoes seeds removed, chopped into small pieces
  • ½ cup (65 g) sliced olives
  • sliced jalapenos, pickled or fresh for topping, optional
  • 1 ¼ cup (145 g) finely shredded sharp cheddar or mexican cheese
  • Corn chips for serving
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. Combine softened cream cheese and sour cream in a large bowl and stir together until creamed and well-combined (I like to use my electric mixer just to make sure there are no lumps).
  2. Add taco seasoning and stir well.
  3. Spread mixture evenly into a 9-10″ pie dish.
  4. Top mixture with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, olives, jalapenos (if using) and finally evenly sprinkle with shredded cheese.
  5. Taco dip can be served immediately or can be covered and stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
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March 22nd 2025

March 22nd 2025

Thought of the Day

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An ounce of practice is worth a thousand words.

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

Ole Miss holds off frantic UNC comeback to beat Tar Heels 71-64 in NCAA Tournament

By STEVE MEGARGEE AP Sports Writer

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Sean Pedulla made a critical 3-pointer with 52.8 seconds left, and Mississippi topped North Carolina 71-64 in the NCAA Tournament on Friday after the Rebels squandered most of a 22-point lead in the second half.

Ole Miss (23-11), the No. 6 seed in the South Region, will chase its first Sweet 16 berth since 2001 when it faces No. 3 seed Iowa State (25-9) on Sunday. Iowa State defeated Lipscomb 82-55 in the other Friday afternoon game in Milwaukee.

The Rebels are making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2019. They hadn’t won an NCAA tourney game since beating BYU 94-90 in the First Four in 2015, and they hadn’t advanced beyond the round of 64 since 2013.

North Carolina (23-14) made Ole Miss work for it.

RJ Davis drove to the basket, drew a foul and converted a three-point play to cut Ole Miss’ lead to 66-64 with 1:09 remaining. Pedulla responded by sinking Ole Miss’ only successful 3-pointer in seven second-half attempts from beyond the arc.

After North Carolina’s Drake Poell missed a 3 with 43 seconds left, Ole Miss went 4 of 5 on free-throw attempts the rest of the way.

Pedulla finished with 20 points. Dre Davis had 15 for Ole Miss, and Jaemyn Brakefield added 12 points.

RJ Davis scored 15 and Ven-Allen Lubin had 14 for North Carolina, which advanced to the round of 64 with a 95-68 victory over San Diego State in the First Four on Tuesday.

Ole Miss never trailed and seemed on the way to a blowout win for much of the day.

North Carolina trailed 50-30 with just over 16 minutes left when starting forward Jae’lyn Withers was helped off the floor after hurting his right leg on a drive to the basket. Ole Miss still led by 15 with 8:55 remaining.

Then the Tar Heels went on a tear.

A one-handed dunk by Jalen Wahington capped an 11-0 spurt that cut Ole Miss’ lead to 63-59 with 5:07 remaining. RJ Davis eventually made it a one-possession game before Pedulla hit his big shot.

RJ Davis’ UNC farewell

RJ Davis, a fifth-year senior, finishes with 2,725 points to rank second on North Carolina’s career list, trailing Tyler Hansbrough’s 2,872 points from 2005-09. The only other Atlantic Coast Conference player with more career points was JJ Redick, who had 2,769 for Duke from 2002-06.

ACC struggles

North Carolina’s loss continued a rough week for the ACC.

Although four ACC teams reached the NCAA Tournament, only Duke advanced to the round of 32. Louisville, a No. 8 seed in the South, lost 89-75 to Creighton. Clemson, a No. 5 seed in the East Region, fell 69-67 to McNeese.

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

North Carolina justices decide family can sue over unwanted COVID-19 shot

By GARY D. ROBERTSON Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina mother and son can sue a public school system and a doctors’ group on allegations they gave the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, reversing a lower-court decision that declared a federal health emergency law blocked the litigation.

A trial judge and later the state Court of Appeals had ruled against Emily Happel and her son Tanner Smith, who at age 14 received the vaccination in August 2021 despite his protests at a testing and vaccination clinic at a Guilford County high school, according to the family’s lawsuit.

Smith went to the clinic to be tested for COVID-19 after a cluster of cases occurred among his school’s football team. He did not expect the clinic would be providing vaccines as well, according to the litigation. Smith told workers he didn’t want a vaccination, and he lacked a signed parental consent form to get one. When the clinic was unable to reach his mother, a worker instructed another to “give it to him anyway,” Happel and Smith allege in legal briefs.

Happel and Smith sued the Guilford County Board of Education and an organization of physicians who helped operate the school clinic, alleging claims of battery and that their constitutional rights were violated.

A panel of the intermediate-level appeals court last year ruled unanimously that the federal Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act shielded the school district and the Old North State Medical Society from liability. The law places broad protections and immunity on an array of individuals and organizations who perform “countermeasures” during a public health emergency. A COVID-19 emergency declaration in March 2020 activated the law’s immunity provisions, Friday’s decision said.

Chief Justice Paul Newby, writing Friday’s prevailing opinion, said that the federal law did not prevent the mother and son from suing on allegations that their rights in the state constitution had been violated. In particular, he wrote, there is the right for a parent to control their child’s upbringing and the “right of a competent person to refuse forced, nonmandatory medical treatment.”

The federal law’s plain text led a majority of justices to conclude that its immunity only covers tort injuries, Newby wrote, which is when someone seeks damages for injuries caused by negligent or wrongful actions. “Because tort injuries are not constitutional violations, the PREP Act does not bar plaintiffs’ constitutional claims,” he added while sending the case back presumably for a trial on the allegations.

The court’s five Republican justices backed Newby’s opinion, including two who wrote a short separate opinion suggesting the immunity found in the federal law should be narrowed further.

Associate Justice Allison Riggs, writing a dissenting opinion backed by the other Democratic justice on the court, said that state constitutional claims should be preempted from the federal law. Riggs criticized the majority for “fundamentally unsound” constitutional analyses.

“Through a series of dizzying inversions, it explicitly rewrites an unambiguous statute to exclude state constitutional claims from the broad and inclusive immunity,” Riggs said.

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

Tobacco Road is front and center of March Madness with 3 women’s sites and men’s site in area

By DOUG FEINBERG AP Basketball Writer

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) — Oregon coach Kelly Graves was excited when he saw his team was headed to Duke to play in the NCAA Tournament.

The Ducks had success there a few years back when they played in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, advancing also as a 10-seed. But more importantly, it meant a chance for his family to watch both the Ducks play and the Florida men’s team where his son, Will, is a graduate assistant coach.

The Gators are playing their first-round game in Raleigh, North Carolina, about 30 minutes from Cameron Indoor Stadium where Oregon will face Vanderbilt on Friday. The Graves family got together Thursday night at a hotel. It will be tough for them to cheer everyone on Friday as Oregon’s game tips off 80 minutes before Florida so going to both games is nearly impossible.

“Every family has those trips or memories that are just different,” Graves said. “Our first trip to Durham was one of those and now to be back it brings up those memories again even if it’s under different circumstance. My boys were so pumped to be at Cameron before and now we’re back.”

Tobacco Road is the center of the NCAA Tournament this week with three women’s first-round sites at Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State. There’s also the men’s first-round games being played at N.C. State as well. In all, there’s 21 men’s and women’s teams in the area for the games. No city comes close to that, including Los Angeles which has both UCLA and Southern Cal hosting first-round women’s sites.

It’s the first time that there’s been so much basketball in one area at four different venues. The “Triangle” as its known, hosted three women’s first-round sites in 1998, but there was no men’s games in the area that year.

Even with so many teams in the area, hotels, busing and other logistics were relatively easy. The teams playing at Duke all were staying within 20 minutes of the arena. Teams in Chapel Hill were even closer. The men’s and women’s teams up at N.C. State also were all within a short drive from the arenas.

It’s a fitting location for such a hoops-heavy week.

“I think it’s awesome. This is ACC, Tobacco Road. This is what it’s all about. To have eight men’s teams and then have all three of the local teams on the women’s side hosting is pretty amazing,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. “It’s a great accomplishment, makes it hard to get hotel rooms, things like that. Other than that, I think that’s what it’s about. March Madness, you know.”

No state has hosted more NCAA Tournament games on the men’s side than North Carolina, with the state’s 269 games entering this year 41 more than California as the next closest state. Coming into this weekend there have been 154 women’s games in the state — third most behind Texas and California.

“I mean, think about it, how many Metropolitan areas do you know of that could have three teams like that in one area and draw? Most people draw because they have a whole state that is behind them, or just an entire city,” Duke coach Kara Lawson said. “So they can draw from one hour east and one hour north and one hour south and one hour west, and like everyone can converge upon this town that supports the one team. … There’s nothing like it in the country.”

North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart remembers when she took over the program in 2019, the Tar Heels and Blue Devils were struggling. Now to have them both hosting games is huge.

“As much as it’s hard to say, you are kind of secretly rooting for each other to bring basketball back here,” she said.

Cities like the state capital in Raleigh, Charlotte and Greensboro have all hosted men’s games in the past decade, with men’s games back in Raleigh for the first time since 2016.

And that gave the Duke men — who entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 — a roughly half-hour drive over from campus to start their push for a sixth national title.

Teams in Raleigh held news conferences and open practices Thursday at the Lenovo Center, home to Duke’s Atlantic Coast Conference neighbor N.C. State. The Blue Devils’ open practice gave the first glimpse at freshman star and unanimous Associated Press first-team All-American Cooper Flagg since his ankle injury in the ACC Tournament. Flagg glided through Duke’s practice, then joined his teammates in throwing T-shirts to an arms-waving crowd as they wrapped up their work.

Both the Duke men and women play on Friday. It is possible for fans to make both contests with the men playing in the afternoon and the women in the evening.

___

AP Basketball Writer Aaron Beard contributed to this story as well as freelancer Bob Sutton.

French Bread

French Bread

French Bread

Photo by Getty Images

French Bread Recipe from I Heart Naptime

Prep time: 1 hour & 10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving size: 32 servings (2 loaves)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups warm water , about 105°F
  • 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
  • 2 ½ teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 5 cups (650 g) all-purpose flour , or bread flour (add more as needed)
  • 2 ½ teaspoons table salt or fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • Melted salted butter , optional
Photo by Getty Images

Directions

  1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit 5 minutes, or until it begins to foam.
  2. In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a large mixing bowl, stir together 2 cups flour and salt. Stir in the yeast mixture on medium-low speed or by hand. Knead in 1/2 cup of the remaining flour in increments until the dough is smooth but not sticky (depending on climate you could use more or less than 5 cups). Add more flour as needed.
  3. Rub the olive oil around the dough ball, cover the bowl with a towel and let rest 15 to 30 minutes. If you have more time, let rise up to 1 hour.
  4. Turn the dough onto a well-floured surface and divide it in half. Set one half aside. Roll the other half into a rectangle (about 15 inches). Starting from the long side, roll the dough into a cylinder.
  5. Turn both ends in and pinch the seams closed. Round the edges and place onto a baking sheet. Repeat with the second dough ball. Make three diagonal cuts across the top of each loaf. Cover loaves lightly with a towel. Let rise 30 to 60 minutes (the longer the better, if you have the time).
  6. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. Bake 17 to 23 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown. When you knock on it, it should sound hollow. If it’s browning too fast, lightly cover with foil and lower the temperature to 375°F.
  7. Brush the top with melted butter, if desired. Slice and serve while warm.
Photo by Getty Images

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