LSU basketball posted today that we are 100 days till tip-off of 2018-19 season and year 2 of the Wade era. LINK So I figured this would be a great time for a bump on this post from a few days ago recapping Summer news. Sorry, for the long post, but there was a lot of positive to cover.

June:
- News of Tremont Waters pulling his name from NBA draft and coming back for sophomore year. Was to be expected by most, but was a great way to start the Summer on a positive note knowing that we are getting back our All-SEC Freshman pg and a player that will be the driving force behind the young talent coming in.

- #3 recruiting class reported to campus highlighted by 5* players Naz Reid and Emmitt Williams, along with LA Gatorade POY and national top 50 player, Javonte Smart, and 4* player Darius Days.

- Early interviews and reports from Coach Wade are that freshmen and transfers came in looking good (except Naz who was a little out of shape); but all are putting in the work. Tremont has come in as a man highly focused on a mission of self improvement based on NBA feedback and improving the team.

- Taylor's athleticism is the talk of workouts, but that he is raw, and once he develops he will be a huge contributor to the team. Fans are excited. We also learn that Tremont has taken the freshmen under his wing to give them advice and motivation; while Edwards is helping the JUCO transfers with how to capitalize on their opportunity to play now.

July:
- More reports from Coach Wade and former coach John Brady about progress of the team. Coach Wade talks about how this Summer is different from last in that more of the foundation for program is in place so coaches can spend more time on player development and beginning to implement some of offensive and defensive system. Workouts are going really well and all new players are working hard and buying into system. He talks about how much leadership Smart has displayed as a freshman.

- Coach Brady says that players are meshing well together in the couple of practices he has seen and that he has been extremely impressed by Reid, Williams, and Taylor. Says he knew Taylor could jump through the roof and could shoot from the outside; but was surprised by his ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket and finish.

- Tweet last week from Brody Miller with Nola.com saying he spoke to Shaquille O'Neal after Shaq "snook" into a practice and had this to say about the new talent: “Speed, talent, shooting, togetherness. They looked pretty good.” LINK

- Tremont continues to get recognition from even national writers. CBS Basketball Insider, Jon Rothstein, tweeted Tremont is the "best returning guard in the SEC." LINK. And NBA draft writer, Jackson Hoy, names Tremont as his one of his early predictions for First Team All-American. Also, here is a video posted the other day of Tremont doing a windmill Dunk. This would not have been as easy, or maybe even possible, last year as he has put an emphasis on body development this year.

-Recruiting continues on a positive path. Many see the 2019 class as more of a program building class with 4 and 3 star type players; but that didn't stop Wade from making room on the 2018 roster to likely add a 4* top 150 player in Aundre Hyatt, who will make his commitment on Aug 10th. Plus, Wade already has LSU in on some big names for the 2020 class, where the Tigers are considered the front runner for the #1 center and top 10 player in the country .

- And to top things off, here is a link to an article from BustingBrackets.com to remind everyone of the complete overhaul of LSU's roster that Will Wade has done in just the 15 months since his hire. Busting Brackets article

It can't be said enough what an outstanding job Will Wade has done and continues to do in completely changing the culture and perception of LSU basketball. November can't get here fast enough.

This post was edited on 7/29/18 at 10:53 am