How Will Wade changed LSU basketball and laid the foundation of continued success: A sneak peek into his five-year tenure leading the Tigers
Will Wade took over as coach of the LSU Tigers ahead of the 2017-2018 season. The program had been to just one NCAA Tournament in the previous eight seasons before his arrival and had been coming off of a 10-21 season, a year removed from the Ben Simmons debacle. Wade led the Tigers to an 18-15 record in his first year with the program, failing to reach the tournament.
LSU was 28-7 the following season. However, they were 25-5 in games coached by Wade. He had been suspended for five games after being caught on an FBI wiretap discussing recruiting violations. According to Yahoo! Sports, Wade said:
"I was thinking last night on this (Javonte) Smart thing. I’ll be honest with you, I’m f**king tired of dealing with the thing. Like, I’m just f**king sick of dealing with the s**t. Like, this should not be that f**king complicated. I went to him with a f**king strong-ass offer about a month ago. F**king strong.
"The problem was, I know why he didn’t take it now, it was f**king tilted toward the family a little bit. It was tilted toward taking care of the mom, taking care of the kid. Like it was tilted towards that. Now, I know for a fact he didn’t explain everything to the mom. I know now, he didn’t get enough of the piece of the pie in the deal.
"It was a f**king hell of a f**king offer. Hell of an offer. Especially for a kid who is going to be a two- or three-year kid."
After five games away from the team, Will Wade was reinstated with significant modifications to his contract. While the Tigers were successful on the recruiting trail and made the NCAA Tournament in three of Wade's five seasons, including his final two, he was fired in March 2022 after the NCAA issued a formal violation against him. He completed his five-year tenure with a 105-51 record.
How have the LSU Tigers and Will Wade moved on?
The LSU Tigers hired Matt McMahon to lead the program following Will Wade's termination. The Tigers were 14-19 last season and failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Wade did not coach last season. However, in March he was named the coach of the McNeese State Cowboys heading into the 2023-2024 season. He was recently handed a 10-game suspension and given a two year show cause order for three Level I violations while leading the Tigers.