LSU Basketball Coach Will Wade Named to ESPN’s “40-Under-40” List
The first three years under coach Will Wade has been a roller coaster ride no doubt but it's also been one of the best starts to an LSU coaching career in recent memory.
Lets just paint the picture of LSU basketball coaches the last 20 years and see what their records were. John Brady arrived in 1997 and went a combined 21-33 in his first two seasons before leading the Tigers to the Sweet 16 in 1999-00 after a 28-6 record.
Trent Johnson took over 2008 and after a successful 27-8 inaugural season with the Tigers that resulted in a second round exit in the NCAA tournament, proceeded to go 22-40 over the next two seasons. Johnny Jones is the only coach that could challenge Wade in his first three seasons, boasting a 61-37 record that included a first round tournament exit in 2014-15.
In three seasons as the Tigers coach since taking over in 2017, Wade has led LSU to a 64-30 record resulting in an NIT berth, a Sweet 16 appearance and what would've been a second straight NCAA tournament appearance had the 2019-20 season not been cut short.
What he did even in that first season back in 2017 was pretty remarkable, turning a team low on confidence after a 10-21 and two win SEC record to a 19-14 team that challenged for a tournament spot until the final few weeks of the season.
He's brought in electrifying point guard Tremont Waters, molded Skylar Mays into a future NBA draft pick, found diamonds in the rough in Kavell Bigby-Williams and Marlon Taylor and of course, lured five-star forwards Naz Reid and Trendon Watford to the program.
Of course Wade's time has been anything but smooth sailing as an FBI and subsequent NCAA investigation have put a target on Wade and the LSU program's back since that run to the Sweet 16 in Spring, 2019 that saw Wade suspended for the entirety of the postseason.
On Wednesday morning, however, ESPN released its "40-under-40" college basketball coaches watchlist and Wade ranked No. 3 on the publication's rankings.
In terms of pure on-court coaching and recruiting abilities, Wade would be No. 1 on this list and it wouldn't be particularly close. He won 40 games in two seasons at Chattanooga, went to the NCAA tournament both seasons at VCU and then won the SEC regular-season title his second season at LSU. But there have been issues. He was heard on an FBI wiretap discussing the recruitment of a player and was suspended for a month as a result.
ESPN writers Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf argued in a roundtable debate article, that if it weren't for the investigation and looking at just the on-court success, there's no debate, Wade is clearly the No. 1 guy.
"If it's just coaching, Will Wade is the top guy on this list and there is a giant gap between him and whoever is in second place," Medcalf wrote. "At age 37, he has won 21 or more games five times, something Mike Krzyzewski didn't achieve for the first time until he was 38."
Sports Illustrated national writer Pat Forde expects an NOA handed down by the NCAA to LSU any week now, particularly after the release of the HBO documentary "the Scheme." But ultimately the ball will be in athletic director Scott Woodward's court on if he wants to sever ties with Wade.
It's interesting to note that after the documentary premiered, Woodward released the following statement.
“We are aware of the documentary first aired on March 31, 2020, on HBO," Woodward said. "There is no change to Coach Will Wade’s employment status at LSU and we will continue to cooperate with all reviews into this matter.”
If Wade does stay on as coach in 2020, the Tigers should be in national contention after once again bringing in a top notch recruiting class headlined by five-star guard Cam Thomas according to 247Sports. The team still awaits final decisions from Javonte Smart, Trendon Watford and Darius Days but there's hope that a few could decide to return to school.
If all breaks the way the program hopes, LSU could be in for its most successful season to date in Baton Rouge under Wade, which as you can see, is saying something.
"I think we'll have a team that competes at the top of the SEC and in the top-10 to 15 nationally," Wade said. "I think if things break like we hope, we could have three double digit SEC starters and scorers back and if you add [our recruiting class] you're in real business now."
