CLEVELAND — It was a one-word answer, but in college basketball circles, it was like going from black and white to technicolor, like hearing the Beatles in stereo for the first time.
McNeese men’s basketball coach Will Wade was asked by reporters Wednesday ahead of his team’s first-round NCAA tournament run whether he or his agent had spoken with NC State about their vacant head coaching position.
“Yes,” Wade said.
Next question.
If a room full of sports journalists’ heads explode, does it make a sound?
Wade, never one to sugarcoat things, whether in front of a microphone or on a phone tap, explained the subject in his previous response, when asked how he addressed the rumors of job openings with his players at this time of year.
“I’m aware of what’s going on. They’re aware of what’s going on. Just hit it head on,” Wade said. “We’re all on the same page with everything.”
Minutes later, word leaked that Wade had in fact agreed to accept the NC State job once the 12-seed McNeese tournament concluded, which many thought would happen shortly against 5-seed Clemson on Thursday. Instead, the Cowboys pulled off the biggest upset of the first round. And then Wade continued to address his situation head on.
Wade’s frankness broke the mold on how these things tend to play out in college sports, which are usually full of whispers and off-the-record conversations that a deal is in the works and a coach is leaving, while the coach and parties involved refuse or dodge or outright deny such reports to the press and locker room until the official announcement is made. Then the coach spends the ensuing introductory press conference talking generally about how these job changes always happen quickly, suddenly blurry or forgetful when it comes to specific deadlines.
Wade got around all of that. Perhaps in a way that might change the standard operating procedure in the future.
“I actually thought he handled it well,” said Alabama coach Nate Oats, who himself has been the subject of similar discussions in recent seasons. “The noise is out there. Leaks are happening, whatever. That’s where he gets the job. Might as well talk it over with your guys.”
New Mexico coach Richard Pitino attributed this new world order to the changing landscape of the sport and the way the transfer portal has accelerated the hiring timeline — unnecessarily, in his view. This year’s portal window opens Monday and programs want to have their coach in place by then. This can lead to difficult and rushed transitions.
“Sometimes coaches don’t have control,” Pitino said. “Opening the gate on Monday is the stupidest thing ever. There is no logic behind it. It puts a lot of people in very uncomfortable situations.”
Whatever the reason or impetus, radical changes do not happen all at once. The same day Wade tore down the facade, reporters asked VCU’s Ryan Odom about his name attached to the current vacancies and opted to put up scaffolding.
“Yeah, I don’t want to respond to any of the rumors. My complete focus right now is on this team, this university and doing our best here in the tournament,” Odom said. “We don’t worry about any of those other things.”
VCU lost to BYU on Thursday. On Friday, news broke that Odom was accepting the job at Virginia. SATURDAY, Virginia made the hiring official.
But Wade isn’t the only one taking a more brutal approach. Maryland coach Kevin Willard, another popular name on the coaching carousel, said he has also broached the subject with his players. Willard has not commented publicly on specific openings or outside interest, but he has turned up the heat on his own school.
“I need to make fundamental changes to the program. That’s what I’m focused on right now. That’s probably why a (new contract extension) hasn’t happened, because I need to see fundamental changes made,” Willard said. “I want this program to be great. I want it to be the best in the country, I want to win a national championship, but there are things that need to change.”
Whether or not these changes will happen for Willard in College Park remains to be seen, but it appears a broader shift could be coming when it comes to coaching hiring. In a cottage industry carefully built on unspoken conventions and norms, Wade opted for a hammer. Given that he was widely applauded for his outspokenness afterward, you might see his peers begin to follow suit.
“As for my players, I prefer to be honest with them all the time. What’s the point of lying, of trying to cover things up?” said Oatmeal. “If there is such a thing, let’s be honest. The more we win, the more we win, the better opportunities we get.”
(Photo: Brian Fluharty / Imagn Images)
