re: Does anyone feel the basketball program is in better shape now than when WW arrived?

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He brought us from the dumps to national relevance. He will be severely missed. Spineless Woody and Tate should be ashamed

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Ok lol

This is where the Mulkey hire becomes huge. No matter what the mens team has going on she’s still expecting some improvements to the joint facilities. Even a new arena potentially. By the time the sanctions are past us, Wade and Mulkey will be proof that you can build a winner here.

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What? Before Wade we might as well been on probation. How long have you watched LSU basketball?

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Since 1978. Plenty long enough to know the cycles of the team and what we are capable of. With the right coach, and given the new NIL/transfer rules, LSU will be able to compete with any team in the NCAA. That is assuming, of course, the new coach is not stupid enough to make the same unforced error Will Wade did. What Wade did was akin to having a nuclear bomb and accidentally setting it off in your own garage. Yes, he took us 2 steps forward, but also took us 10 steps back. Hopefully Woodward and the new coach can make up that ground quickly.

We all remember how bad they were before WW & we will never forget how bad it was after the NCAA hammers them!!!!

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People think WW was good for LSU.

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Its a personality cult.

He did from the standpoint that young players of basketball today could aspire to don the purple and gold playing hoops. Prior thereto, there was no such momentum. It seems Wade attracted players who were left to play their own style. Whether or not the next coach has the same mantra will likely determine continuity in that caliber of player emphasis.

He did from the standpoint of getting fans and the students back into the seats. The coaching decision will also be telling on that account. Basketball is a fun, fast paced sport to watch and [while making the tourney will be heavily in doubt due to the NCAA], the fans could take on a reputation of crazies who enjoy watching underdogs just to continue their "role" for 20 or so nights a year.

Absolutely not. He left it in the same shape he found it. It will take several years to get back to relevance.

Depending on the Sanctions it may be a Hell Of A Lot Worse?

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We never made a deep run in the tournament despite great talent coming in.

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His team made it to the Sweet 16 before losing to #2 seed Michigan St. The 2020 tournament was canceled. The 2021 team lost to #1 seed Michigan. The 2022 tournament has yet to be played. Wade's team did not get upset in the tournament. They lost to better teams. But the fact remains that but for the 2020 tournament being canceled LSU would have made the NCAAT in 4 of his 5 seasons here. In the TWENTY FOUR year period that preceded his arrival LSU made 6 NCAA tournaments...total.

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He left the program in worst shape than when he arrived potentially though because all our current talent will likely transfer and the next coach will be hit with sanctions to limit his early success.

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LSU's AD's decison to fire him is what is going to leave the program in shambles. I NOT saying the firing wasn't justified, but the timing is going to make it hard, if not impossible, for a new HC to salvage anything.

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He had an exciting run but ultimately did nothing to improve the overall LSU brand.

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Given the fact that LSU was totally irrelevant prior to his arrival, I'd say he improved the brand to some degree.

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We are now labeled as a dirty program.

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So was Kentucky, and Duke, and UNC, and Kansas, and Louisville, and Arizona. I doubt their fans particularly give a shite when they get to watch them compete for national titles.

Everyone likes to pretend they have some sort of "moral compass" when it comes to college sports. Mostly because they like to pretend it is some noble academic extracurricular when the reality is it is a multi-million dollar ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS (unless you consider the nearly 3/4th of a BILLION dollars the NCAA is about to take in from tournament just a charitable donation). But the reality is winning is ALL that matters. Trent Johnson didn't have a hint of recruiting improprieties (probably because he didn't recruit). I don't recall many voices lobbying for him to stay at LSU because he did things "the right way." John Calipari had TWO schools put on probation. Same for Kelvin Sampson at Houston. Kentucky and Houston fans didn't seem to mind.

When LSU hires nitwits and bad coaches, the program sucks. When they hire good coaches, it wins. Unfortunately WW was in between. He could be a good coach but Only a complete dumbass does the money work as a HC.