Backing The Pack
Cheering for anyone else is for quitters.
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Roster Update: Ven Lubin Returns
Coach Gainey has convinced Ven-Allen Lubin to ride with the Wolfpack one more season where Ven had the best season of his career in ’25-’26. He logged career highs in: Lubin was granted his eligibility by a Texas court on Friday 8/14; he is assured of playing this season. VAL will immediately challenge for the […]
The Wolfpack’s Big Man Targets Are Eligible
NCAA Loses Another One 36 more athletes gained eligibility yesterday, including 3 potential NC State targets, when a Texas court granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) to Andrew Akuchie, Tavion Banks, Hayleigh Breland, Nate Calmese, Derek Carter, Jacob Crews, Alonzo Dodd, Treysen Eaglestaff, Jayden Flaker, Ella Flowers, Bella Fontleroy, Preston Gamster, Dashon Gittens, Malik Gucake, […]
What should we expect from NC State’s special teams in 2026?
NC State’s special teams unit was not good in 2025, in a variety of different ways, which is extra unhelpful. SP+ ranked the unit at No. 103 overall last season, but there’s really no need for an exacting assessment here. That group was not good enough. It was a strange year in that NC State […]
NC State will debut black camo alternate uniforms next month
When I first saw the new black alternate football helmet, I was pretty excited about the look … and then I saw the rest of it. NC State’s “Wolfpack Warriors” uniforms, which will be worn on 9/11, have a camo theme that doesn’t work, because camo-themed sports uniforms never do. I like the extra-shiny numbering […]
NC State women’s hoops announces non-conference schedule
As usual, Wes Moore isn’t shy about scheduling in the non-conference, and his team’s 2026 schedule features a half dozen power-conference opponents, including multiple teams coming off NCAA tournament appearances. NC State will play two road games, and three neutral-site contests. The full non-conference slate: Monday, Nov. 2 vs. WoffordWednesday, Nov. 4 vs. CampbellSunday, Nov. […]
NCAA – The Latest
NCAA’s Latest Membership Missive The NCAA sent this letter to its member institutions Tuesday. [emphasis added] Colleagues, The Tenth Circuit has ordered expedited briefing on our request for a stay pending appeal. The deadline for the class members to file a response to the emergency motion is Friday, August 14. The NCAA’s reply brief must […]
KaTron Evans is eligible to play, for now
On Monday a Federal judge ruled NC State defensive lineman KaTron Evans eligible for the next two weeks, as his lawsuit for a sixth season of eligibility remains pending. Sources close to the situation have told me that NC State does not play any football in the next two weeks, however. Evans, who redshirted in […]
It’s a legacy year for CJ Bailey
Last week we had a look at NC State’s defense, which is doing a lot of rebuilding coming off a rough season, so let’s turn now to the offense, which also faces plenty of questions, but has the most important one answered. How far CJ Bailey can carry this side of the ball in year […]
Cozell McQueen passes away at 64
Terribly sad news this week as NC State has announced the passing of Cozell McQueen, who played a key role on the 1983 national championship team. He was 64 years old. McQueen was a big personality (and one of the highlights of Survive and Advance) on that team, clearly someone who relished everything about that […]
Will NC State crack the top 25 this fall?
The pre-season Coaches Poll was released on Tuesday, and only Miami, SMU, and Clemson made the top 25 out of the ACC, with NC State among several other league schools receiving votes. We could have guessed that State won’t begin the season in the top 25, but will it get there at some point? The […]
NCAA – We Have Questions
School starts a week from Monday for NC State and many other schools. NCAA’s Latest Membership Missive The NCAA sent a letter to its member institutions on Tuesday. The BTP abbreviated (tldnr) version: We know things are confusing and hope to have clarity next week. Next steps: We have started the appellate process, including a […]
The matter of who exactly is still eligible stays complicated
A judge’s ruling in Colorado last week is making for plenty of chaos across college sports right now, leaving everyone wondering just who exactly will be eligible to play in the school year ahead. Football programs are scrambling to assess potential additions with less than a month to go before the season begins, and with […]
The NCAA Strikes Again – Basketball Edition
Breaking News: 7/31: Judge Charlotte Sweeney of the U.S. District Court of Colorado has granted a class-wide preliminary injunction that requires the NCAA to declare eligible all high school class of 2022 athletes who exhausted four seasons of eligibility this spring, Plaintiffs in the suit requested that transfer rules, the NCAA’s rule of restitution and roster limits […]
We consider ourselves the 33rd team
If you could design a way, as a total enemy to UNC sports, for the Tar Heels to throw roughly a zillion dollars into an ocean of parking complaints and three-star athletes and incompetent management; if you could make this entire program subject to a guy who is as ancient, practical and battered as a […]
Fall camp is underway and let’s talk some defense
NC State opened fall camp this week, and tomorrow it’s August, which is a month that has regular season college football in it, and it’s about damn time. You’re the worst, July! The worst month there is. Frankly, you disgust me; I don’t know how you sleep at night. It’s well past time for some […]
CJ Bailey fourth in ACC pre-season Player of the Year voting
The ACC revealed the pre-season all-conference team on Wednesday, and NC State did not have anybody selected. Which isn’t exactly surprising—I’m not sure who outside of CJ Bailey would have a credible argument at this point. There are guys with potential, of course—Harvey Dyson could have himself a year, for one—but the guesswork is a […]
NC State picked to finish seventh in ACC
NC State has been picked to finish seventh in the ACC this season, while Miami is, not surprisingly, the runaway favorite. The Wolfpack didn’t receive any first-place votes, and six schools not named Miami received at least one first-place vote, though the Hurricanes earned the vast majority of them. Someone picked Stanford to win the […]
Roster Building: Backup Point Guard
Basketball Calendar (Under 100 days to game #1!) Basket Under Review’s Matthew Winick does a very interesting (and huge) annual analysis of every transfer player and I pull from that for this article. Take what he says for what it’s worth, here is a sample of his work before last season. NC State’s Darrion Williams […]
ACC hoops roster spending lags behind other power conferences
The Athletic polled a bunch of power-conference coaches recently about NIL spending, asking them to estimate the average payroll for the teams within their respective leagues. The results show a pretty staggering increase from last season—SEC spending just about doubled, to about $18 million on average. While the power-five conferences were all pretty similar last […]
Looking at NC State’s conference schedule based on SP+ projections
The preseason ACC SP+ projections do not see a whole lot of difference between the middle and the back end of the league, which is probably not going to be borne out by the season, but is interesting nonetheless. While there are only three teams in the top 25, there are none outside of the […]
Murphy Center gets a cafeteria renovation
You can’t build a proper 21st century college football program without a dining facility that tailors to players’ individual recovery and performance needs in real time, that’s what I always say. The Murphy Center has a new cafeteria that does exactly that—whatever that means, exactly, I do not know. My secret to building a good […]
Coach Gainey’s Summer Press Conference
Now that summer camp sessions are over in June, and the July recruiting visits are winding down, the coaching staff is able to provide us some information about summer workouts. Highlights Front Court – Feeling much better after the two late additions. Both bring something different, Hall with the athleticism and Jurkovic brings that veteran […]
Halting conference realignment the latest aim of the ‘Protect College Sports Act’
Certain members of Congress and various college administrators continue to work on a piece of legislation that would cover a wide variety of issues in college sports—it would be bad for the players if it were to pass, naturally—and that includes a possible cap on league expansion. It would also make it a lot more […]
Pack9 continues 2027 roster build with more transfers
After taking a sizeable hit by losing seven players to the MLB Draft and another (JR RHP Heath Andrews) to an undrafted free agent deal after the draft, NC State had an open spot on their 34-man limit for the 2027 roster. They filled that spot… with three players. Hey, spring roster limits sound like […]
Roster Building: A Closer Look at the Front Court
Comparing the Five Big Men Here’s what’s wrong with trying to compare them, in addition to the fact that none of them played; a) in a P4 conference last season, b) with these teammates, or c), in Coach Gainey’s system: We don’t have the necessary baseline to accurately compare one to another. But we can […]
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