Last preseason, Wes Moore did something he had not done in nearly four decades of coaching: he skipped a closed-door scrimmage. Instead of a private mid-October session against an unnamed opponent, NC State played two public exhibitions: High Point on Oct. 18 and Maryland on Oct. 26. Both were unstreamed. Both produced useful film and a pair of wins.
This year’s schedule follows a similar pattern. The Wolfpack has two exhibitions listed: High Point on Oct. 8 and UNCW on Oct. 24, both at Reynolds Coliseum. Those dates fall in the same window Moore traditionally used for secret scrimmages.
That overlap is the basis for the speculation. A coach who spent years preferring a closed session so he could stop play, work on specific situations, and keep results private now has two open dates sitting in that same stretch of the calendar. Last year the reason was a young roster that needed live, game-like minutes. This year’s group again features new pieces and a shorter frontcourt. The same logic could apply.
Nothing has been announced. Closed scrimmages stay off the schedule by design. Moore has never confirmed them publicly, and he is under no obligation to do so this year either. The two listed exhibitions simply make another private session less likely than it used to be.
Until an opponent or date leaks, the safest read is that the Pack will again use the two public games as its only preseason tests against outside competition. The first of those arrives Oct. 8.
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