Numbers aren’t everything in college basketball, but they play a major role — more today than in past years — in roster management and player development.
They’re a large reason N.C. State, under first-year head coach Will Wade, has the roster it does.
Some of Wade’s earliest hires were assistant Brandon Chambers, general manager Andrew Slater and assistant general manager Patrick Stacy. All three balance metrics and the old-school eye test in their roles, and the team feels good about its trajectory after a few weeks of summer ball.
Wade told the News & Observer in May that the staff has statistical benchmarks and body types for each position it looks for when recruiting. But, more than anything, he wants the best players who also fit into the overall system; specific plays and rotations are adjusted accordingly.
Several assistants, in their first media appearances since arriving in Raleigh, provided more details about roster development.
Stacy and Slater, who was unavailable, provide a 2-for-1 punch, Chambers said. Slater, formerly an Oklahoma City Thunder scout, knows what tangible and intangible traits predict a player’s success on the collegiate and professional levels.
Meanwhile, Stacy developed a custom analytics matrix that provides a quantifiable measure of a player’s value on the court. Stacy previously worked as the Wyoming men’s basketball general manager and an independent consultant prior to his stint in Laramie.
“As a coaching staff, to have that as a barometer — both pieces, Andrew Slater and Patrick Stacy — it gives you a lot of confidence as a coach that you’re going to get high-level players and high-level talent,” Chambers said.
Stacy’s evaluation model looks at statistics including on/off margins for 100 possessions, offensive and defensive efficiency, shooting percentages and turnover margin. Those numbers are weighted by their importance to overall winning. From there, a formula provides a single value from 0 to 10.
Most elite players, Stacy said, are graded at an 8 or 9. Duke’s Cooper Flagg would be a rare instance of a player earning a 10. This model, which is designed specifically for N.C. State’s wants and needs, gives the staff a good idea of what players can have success. The staff used that data to help inform which players to recruit.
“Even outside the game, a lot of people in their normal jobs are just doing business and everything’s built on data,” Stacy said. “Decisions are driven by that, so it makes sense for this to be the same way.”
Stacy and Slater are the first people at N.C. State to hold a general manager position for men’s basketball. Kevin Keatts, prior to his termination, said that was something he planned to discuss with Athletic Director Boo Corrigan in the offseason.
Chambers said he expects every Division I basketball team to have someone in a general manager-type role in the near future.
That data led to one of the top recruiting classes for the upcoming season.
N.C. State is No. 14 nationally in 247 Sports’ overall transfer portal rankings, which considers multiple variables. It ranks No. 26 when looking solely at the average prospect grade (91.88).
It also ranks No. 14 in the composite rankings, which include the transfer and recruiting classes. N.C. State’s two American freshmen — international recruits do not have grades — come in at 98.09.
Its portal class ranks No. 2 overall in the ACC behind only Louisville, according to 247 Sports. Its overall composite ranking is No. 4 in the ACC, behind Duke, UNC and Louisville.
On3’s average grade for the Wolfpack’s incoming transfers is 85.13 and its freshmen recruits land at 92.6. It does not provide a transfer portal ranking based only on incoming transfers. On3’s rankings also factor in outgoing transfers.
ESPN ranks N.C. State’s portal class 13th in the country.
The team’s prospects, however, were not always this high.
On April 22, 247 Sports national correspondent Grant Hughes tweeted that N.C. State was one of 12 Power Four programs to make an offseason coaching change. At the time, it featured the second-lowest transfer portal class of the dozen. Eighty-seven of the top 100 transfer prospects had already committed and the portal was closed to new entrants.
Three days later, Hughes said N.C. State ranked No. 7 of 12 in the group to hire new coaches. Its class also ranked No. 40 nationally for average rating per player (90.83) and No. 10 in the ACC.
N.C. State had picked up commitments from six players, as of April 25. Quadir Copeland (McNeese State), Alyn Breed (McNeese State), Jerry Deng (Florida State), Terrance Arceneaux (Houston), Tre Holloman (Michigan State) and Colt Langdon (Butler) all announced their decisions to join the program.
Things went quiet for several weeks until the Wolfpack added Darrion Williams (Texas Tech) and Ven-Allen Lubin (North Carolina). Williams was the No. 5 overall transfer prospect with a five-star rating and grade of 98. Most of the Wolfpack’s transfers rank outside of the individual Top 100.
“We felt it, too,” assistant coach Vernon Hamilton said of the slowdown. “But Coach was very strategic, and there were some guys that we knew internally that committed to us, ‘Hey Coach, I’m coming there to N.C. State to play.’ Some guys are like, ‘When do I have to be on campus? How much time do I have? Can we hold off a little bit before I announce it?’ Coach is very fair in that sense. He wants guys who want to be here, but he also understands it was a big decision.”
Hamilton said the team finished well with Williams and Lubin, but admits there were days when they were uncertain about recruits. It sometimes felt like a cat-and-mouse game.
The Wolfpack emphasizes that analytics and recruiting rankings are a tool. They’re not the only thing that matters when developing players and creating a roster.
Chambers said the staff utilizes personality assessments and invests a lot of time in creating relationships with players and their families. Getting to know student-athletes beyond their basketball contributions helps determine whether a player will thrive in the program.
It’s important to have objective numbers and talented players. It’s also important to have toughness and guys who can perform well together.
“You’ve got to make sure that you get the right pieces,” Hamilton said. “Coach has done an unbelievable job. He’s been getting the team to jell fast [in] personality and skill set. For us, that was the whole mindset. Let’s get guys to fit the style of play and what he wants to do.”
Overall, N.C. State is pleased with the system it used to build the roster and feels good about the players coming to Raleigh. Every assistant spoke of the character, work ethic and talent the team possesses. It was always going to seek those guys, Wade said previously, but the numbers helped narrow the pool.
“There’s something to take from both,” Hamilton said. “I think Coach explains it really well when he says, ‘I use the analytics as a GPS to get me in the overall vicinity. From that point forward, I know where to take it from there.’”
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 3:57 PM.