Will Wade is headed back to LSU and the high comedy and hypocrisy of some coaches comes to light.
I’ve made no bones about my distaste for Will Wade in any number of columns over the years. Wade is a cheater. That was once considered cheating is no longer cheating is beside the point. Wade cheated hard and LSU had some good seasons under him.
But before we jump on any LSU bandwagons, I’d casually point out that the SEC coaching roster in Wade’s best season was the following: Bryce Drew, Tom Crean, Cuonzo Martin, Billy Kennedy, Avery Johnson, Mike Anderson, Mike White (at Florida), Kermit Davis,
Ben Howland, Frank Martin, Bruce Pearl, Rick Barnes and John Calipari. The SEC wasn’t what is it now, it was the 4th best league and LSU won the league despite playing zero top half teams twice during the regular season.
Wade isn’t the expert coach some seem to think he is, but he is an expert at being a slime ball. So in some ways he’s perfect for LSU, a place that also employs Lane Kiffin and Kim Mulkey. Wade is just the latest in a long line of coaches who espouse loyalty and commitment, but behind closed doors they snake themselves into whatever situation suits them.
NC State is probably better off. In 2023 Kevin Keatts was 23-11, 12-8 in the ACC and squeaked in as an 11 seed to the NCAA Tournament. In 2024, Keatts manufactured a magical run to the Final Four as an 11 seed, going 26-15 overall. 2025 was a bad season and Keatts was fired. But Wade’s first season, with a heavy commitment of NIL money in which he spent on players like Texas Tech’s Darrion Williams, only netted a 20-14 record, 10-8 in the ACC, and an 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
They spent a bunch of money to turn back the clock three years.
And they might end up with a better coach. Early odds on favorites seem to be Tennessee’s Associate Head Coach Justin Gainey or SLU’s Josh Schertz. I don’t know about Gainey since he’s never been a head coach, but he played under Herb Sendek, coached with Sendek, Sean Miller, and now Rick Barnes, and he’s got a terrific reputation. Schertz is terrific.
Wade coming back to the SEC will be fun to monitor if only because he’s going to be given a lot of money to burn through. But money can only take you so far. And now there are a lot of good coaches in the SEC and they all have money.
Yesterday at Rock M and Rock M+
It was a Sam heavy day yesterday for the ol’ Rock M Nation! I provided some easy to follow story lines on the Sweet 16 with a How to Watch post, but not super Mizzou related so click if you’re like me and just enjoy college basketball.
The bigger piece was looking at the Mizzou Roster and where things stand as the portal season appears at our doorstep:
That’s 12 players currently on scholarship for next season… for now. Obviously there’s a lot that can change with the portal opening soon, and with talented players coming in there’s a chance some combination of talented players will exit.
There’s also the case of Jevon Porter, who missed all of conference play with a leg injury. Porter was in the rotation, started the first 10 games, played in 12 games, and played double digit minutes in 11. Missouri has requested medical redshirts in the past, and I could see them attempting to use one in this case. But until we see confirmation, it’s probably safer to assume that he’ll be gone.
I wrote it so there’s not much to comment additionally, but I think it’s worth watching what happens with Porter.
The only other posting we were doing was Sammy updating on the Reacts results where he asked you all what we would give Dennis Gates as a grade this season. B-? Honestly with the internet that’s better than I expected. It’s a good reminder that the most vocal fans are rarely the consensus.
Rock M Radio: March Sadness on Dive Cuts
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