re: LSU basketball transfer portal watch

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If Wade

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If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, it sure would be a merry christmas wouldn’t it, wade-whiner?

Last year’s team should have never been as bad as they were. That is on McMahon. The terrible performance made LSU a less than attractive transfer destination this offseason. Luckily, there were some good BR area native who prioritized returning home over past success at their prior schools (at least more success than what LSU had last season). He also kept his two best freshmen and grabbed a couple of guys (Baker and Collins) who were very highly rated prospects coming out of HS. Collins has NBA size and athleticism.

The SEC probably won’t be as strong as it was last season, so this is a put up or move on season for MM. If he can’t be much more competitive this season then even the LA native players won’t transfer to LSU. At that point it would be time to start over.

The transfer rules allow rebuilds to occur faster than ever, so coaches don’t get the luxury of patience.

I really have a hard time understanding the anti-Wade attitude among you so called LSU fans.

With the exception of a few select years since Dale left, we have been HORRIBLE in basketball. Under Wade, we were in the tournament EVERY SINGLE YEAR.

If you're too ignorant to comprehend that EVERY SINGLE top player is recruited ILLEGALLY to their school of choice in football and men's basketball, I guess that would make sense to me.

If you understand (like any sports fan with a functioning brain) how the "sausage is made", please enlighten me on how Wade was bad for LSU. Make sure to show your work now, like how what he did was any dirtier than Self at Kansas, or Pitino and Calipari at wherever they've been, and who for the most part, had their administration stand behind them by telling the NCAA to fLuck off.

When you inevitably come back with the IGNORANT "he doesn't win like they do", compare the records in their first 5 years at a power 5 job to Wade. Wade can't speed the clock up to show you what he would have done at LSU over 15-20 years. He, and us TRUE LSU fans were robbed of that.

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Yet WW was so arrogant that he was running his mouth to everyone and anyone. And still only got mid results.

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"mid results" is relative. Compared to Kansas, Duke, UNC, Kentucky, etc, Wade's results at LSU weren't remarkable. Compared to the last 3 decades of basketball at LSU though, they were far from "mid results". LSU had become a fixture in the NCAAT under Wade. THAT was a big first step for the program who for 30 years was just as apt to finish dead last in the SEC as it was to make the NCAAT. He was also the first HC since Dale Brown who had a true vision of what the program could become, and he aggressively pursued it. Unfortunately, that aggression cost him his job. Still, the polarizing opinions of him on this board are stupid. He was NOT one of the top HCs in CBB during his tenure at LSU. There was hope he could become one eventually, but he wasn't in his 5 years here. However, he was FAR from a terrible coach. And any person stating as much is doing so solely in a baseless response to those who felt Wade was infallible. I, personally, still wish he was the HC at LSU. But....


...he's not. And it is time to move on. I want McMahon to succeed because I want LSU to succeed. This year he will field a team with only ONE player left over from the Wade era (Wilkinson). This team and this program is basically all his. So the results, good or bad, will be solely attributable to him and he should be judged accordingly. The specter of "ominously looming sanctions" (which it was clear pretty early to anyone paying attention would never come) is over. With the ability to flip a roster in a single offseason a slow build through the development of multiple HS recruiting classes is not only a foolish way to build a program, it's not really even an option. For example, McMahon has already lost 50% of last year's HS signing class.

This year's roster has a lot of experience. It has guys who have produced in solid conferences (most notably, Stewart and Cook). It has guys (Collins, Reed, Ward) with physical traits coveted by pro scouts). If he can't win with this group (and we aren't talking at a national championship level) the you realistically have to question if he will ever be able to win at this level?

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f Wade had not had the misfortune of having a conversation with someone under FBI investigation he would still be at LSU. Can you name one alleged violation that Wade was charged with at LSU that was ACTUALLY proven by the NCAA?

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1. In your wisdom, would you enlighten us on why Wade was fired, when they had nothing on him.
2. We were docked 37 football games for some reason, yet we paid off Miles contract.

How is that possible?

NCAA had little on wade. LSU fired him to appease the NCAA and for the NCAA to go light on us with out football issues. Basically they said fire wade and football will be fine

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I also believe that if LSU had not fired Wade, the NCAA would not have been as soft on the basketball program.

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I disagree.

The IARP rulings/sanctions issued against the other schools under investigation were pretty light (NC State, Memphis, Arizona, Louisville) were pretty light. There is no reason to think LSU would have been any different.

This ENTIRE episode arose from the yahoo article about Wade being heard on a wiretap captured in the FBI investigation discussing a "strong arse offer" with a LSU recruit (i.e. Javonte Smart). If not for that article Wade/LSU would not have been under investigation. The IARP implied as much in its press release:

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The case decision states that the men’s basketball portion of this infractions case initially arose from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York case.

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Wade was never under FBI investigation and the wiretap recording of him was not introduced into evidence at the trials of the various persons caught in that dragnet. They only way it came to light was though leaks to the media.

For three years the media, and many on here, breathlessly repeated the statement "strong arse offer" and were absolutely convinced Wade was going to be banished from ever coaching college basketball again. The ultimate result of 3 years of investigation.....

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The hearing panel found no violations for the former head men’s basketball coach in regard to portions of allegation Nos. 4, 7 and 9, including insufficient credible and persuasive information to establish that the former head men’s basketball coach offered recruiting inducements in the form of cash payments or job offers related to the recruitment of basketball prospective student-athlete No. 1. Additionally, the hearing panel found that the former head men’s basketball coach did not fail to cooperate with the NCAA enforcement staff’s and Complex Case Unit’s investigations related to allegation No. 9.

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Essentially, all the IARP proved was:

1. Wade paid the financee of a former VCU (not LSU) player in connection with her extortion scheme and did not tell the NCAA/LSU about the extortion.

2. He had contact with the friend of a prospective transfer player in 2018 (read: Kavell Bigby-Williams) who was deemed an "impermissible recruiter" for LSU.

Now, both were Level 1 violations, and there is no doubt Wade would have been suspended at LSU. Likely 10+ games (at least). But I don't think he would have been effectively removed from coaching LSU.

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Now, whether or not just dealing with a harsher punishment would have been worth it to keep Wade is a whole other question

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Agreed.

That is a question that can obviously not be answered with 100% certainty. However, the limited data we have on had shows LSU went from a program that reached the NCAAT for (had the 2020 tournament not be canceled) 4 years in a row (something that had not been done in 30 years) to tying the record for the worst SEC record in school history en route to a last place finish in the SEC.

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The IARP rulings/sanctions issued against the other schools under investigation were pretty light (NC State, Memphis, Arizona, Louisville) were pretty light. There is no reason to think LSU would have been any different.

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The only school out of that list that did not fire their coach was Memphis. The Kansas decision has yet to be determined, but I also don't think its fair to compare us letting go of Wade with Kansas holding on to Bill Self. While we can be mad at Woodward for not sticking by Wade, the reality is that he did what the majority of other ADs also did, whether it was right or wrong.

If you think Kansas is gonna fire Bill Self over some kind of "threat" from the WEAK ASSED NCAA, just.......WOW!!!

No, Kansas has told/are telling the NCAA to go pound sand, just like LSU should have. The NCAA has ZERO POWER now. They haven't substantially punished any school that called them on their hypocritical bs in YEARS. They nail the pussy administrations that just bend over and take it. Also, why isn't it fair to compare the Wade and Self situations? Is it because he has coached longer and won more than Wade? So if you win a lot, it's ok to cheat???

As alt said, Wade may have gotten a dozen or so game suspension, but he'd still be our coach, AND WE'D STILL BE WINNING.

Stevie Wonder sees clearly that every school provides illegal inducements to sign the top players, but hypocritical sportswriters and broadcasters choose to ignore the St. Krysweskis (sp), Pitinos, Caliparis, and their DECADES LONG trail of FILTHY recruiting.

It's borderline malpractice how Woodward handled the Wade situation, and I don't give a flying fLuck how many tallest midget titles we win (baseball and lesbian basketball), the only two sports that move the scale nationally are football and men's basketball. He got the football right with Kelly, but has screwed the pooch on the men's basketball side.