(Getty Images/ Grant Halverson)

A little bad news is still okay for N.C. State.

During the last few years of UNC’s battle with the NCAA, fans and hackers of N.C. State took great pleasure in spreading every little morsel of bad news and publicity about their university system brethren over here in Chapel Hill.

We didn’t have much to hit them back with besides whipping their red butts on the basketball court and occasionally on the football field. Then we heard this story about their prize recruit and one-and-done freshman Dennis Smith Jr., from Fayetteville, who — of course — we thought should have been playing for Roy’s boys if he was that good to begin with.

The story went like this. State had put out a request for purchase for a new athletic shoes and apparel contract, and Nike offered the Wolfpack more stuff and a lot more money than their current provider, Adidas. Athletics Director Debbie Yow was about to announce the switch to the Swoosh. Until basketball coach Mark Gottfried heard about it.

He told Yow that State had to stick with Adidas. Yow supposedly asked why, and Gottfried said that she had to trust him on this. Yow said something like, “Mark, Nike has offered us more shoes, more apparel and more money, some of it for you, so I’m not trusting you. You have to tell me what you are talking about.”

Gottfried then fessed up that Adidas was paying Smith and Bam Adebayo, the two five-stars he was recruiting to play for State, so they could wear Adidas kicks in college and eventually, as pros, sign endorsement contracts with the company.

Who knew if the story was true, especially when Bam wound up wearing Nikes at Kentucky, but we sure had fun telling it to anyone who might get a kick out of it.

When the FBI revealed it had the goods on some coaches, recruits and shoe companies that were illegally exchanging money, people who support UNC said, “Ha!” And we expected Smith’s name to surface in connection with the probe.

Then, this week, ESPN reported federal indictments were written that Adidas paid the parents of Kansas player $90,000 and an N.C. State player $40,000 to attend those schools. It’s still no big deal even if it is Smith, because he’s in the NBA, Gottfried was fired and State’s penalty would be vacating its 15 victories and 14th-place finish in the ACC last season.

All together now, “Ha!”