LSU Basketball Set to Say Goodbye to Four Seniors In Regular Season Finale
Will Wade still has his number saved at the top of his favorites on his iPhone. The number has been disconnected for a long time now, 17 months to be exact but Wade always keeps it first.
In the early hours of Sept. 28, 2018, Wade received the call that no head coach ever wants to get, a call that he still remembers to this day. Sophomore forward Wayde Sims was shot and killed on the outskirts of Southern University's campus trying to protect a friend.
“I still remember getting the phone call, going to the hospital, everything that went on,” Wade said. “Since that morning, I’ve never taken his number out of my phone. He’s somebody who’s still with us.”
On Saturday, Sims, along with high school and LSU teammates Skylar Mays, Marshall Graves and Marlon Taylor will be honored on senior day. It’ll be an emotional day as Wayne and Fay Sims will be in attendance on behalf of their late son.
“It will be emotional and tough,” Wade said. “He was a great person, just in the wrong place at the wrong time. We love him and he's always still with us.”
For Mays and Graves, Sims’ high school teammates at University High and then LSU, it will be another day to pay tribute to their fallen friend, who Mays honors to this day by holding up double-fours when announced in the starting lineup.
"I think that's where the emotional part is going to come in," Mays said. "I could go on and on about what Wayde means to me and I wish he was here with us physically. For us to be honoring him, that means a whole lot to me."
“It's going to be a surreal experience and especially honoring Wayde because it's his senior night too so it is going to be special for sure," Graves said.
After Sims' death, it was Graves who earned his scholarship which is something the senior guard takes great pride in being able to carry on his legacy in some capacity.
While it will be a day of remembrance it will also be one filled with memories on the court, some good and some not. Mays and Graves were around for the 2-16 final season under Johnny Jones, the NIT game against ULL and capturing an SEC title against Vanderbilt without their head coach.
For Taylor, cutting down the nets as SEC champs last season is just one of the many moments he'll look back on with great fondness.
"That was the best moment of my basketball career," Taylor said. "There were plenty of moments but that's the one that always comes to mind."
In Mays' case, there are plenty to choose from including his game winner against Mississippi State earlier this year, the 12-point comeback against Missouri in the final three minutes last season and winning that SEC championship over Vanderbilt. But the one he chose Friday comes from that freshman year because it included a highlight moment for his lifelong friend.
"One of my favorite moments in an SEC basketball game was my very first SEC basketball game and we played Vanderbilt here and Wayde hit three back-to-back threes," Mays said. "There are a lot of great moments that I'm going to remember from my time here."
It'll be an emotional day as most senior days are, but for Mays, being a part of the progress that this program has made will be something he'll always be able to pat himself on the back for.
"I'm proud to be a part of the jumpstart of this thing and I see this program making huge strides long after I'm gone," Mays said. "We've got a great leader here right now in coach Wade and the coaching staff and he recruits great guys that care about winning. That's a recipe for great things to come."
