Not Pretty but Gritty: Wade returns to McNeese, and LSU survives 63-60
· Yahoo Sports
There was so much more than what happened on the court as Will Wade made his second debut on Thursday as the head coach of LSU men’s basketball (albeit an exhibition) and returned to McNeese for the first time since leaving for NC State.
For starters, the roster expanded. Listed on the LSU website are guard Divine Ugochukwu, who wore number 99, guard Abdi Bashir Jr., who wore number 1, forward Mo Dioubate, who wore number 10 and guard Austin Nunez, who is sidelined with a foot injury.
Visit tr-sport.bond for more information.
Added to the roster were Luke Stansbury (0), Donovan Dent (3), Brad Fife (4), Jordan Bender (5), Strake Pearson (22), Michael Ruzic (32) and Skyy Clark (55). McNeese and LSU handed out rosters pregame with the list, but 20 minutes before tipoff, Jon Rothstein reported that Ruzic would be eligible. Something Wade himself found out at 3:30 PM on Thursday, and he also noted that everyone listed on the roster for the evening is eligible. This is by no means the final roster. A few players will certainly be eligible, but Wade and LSU wanted to take the proper precautions before letting them suit up.
“We have another two who are cleared to play, but we wanted to make sure all the paperwork was filed. We are not trying to do anything untoward towards any acronym,” Wade said. “It was not worth risking it tonight.”
There is also a third guy they are waiting for final clearance on as well, and they submitted the final paperwork for that one Thursday afternoon. As to which players fall into which category, it is not publicly clear, and Wade would not offer up names. Wade also said he expects to have more players available for the Tigers’ exhibition on Wednesday, October 14, against UCF at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center (PMAC). Names to look out for are Brice Dessert, Daliou Niang, and maybe RJ Luis.
With a clearer picture of the roster being painted, the reason for the exhibition in the first place was about Will Wade giving back to McNeese, a program that believed in him, gave him a second chance despite his past, and a place he still considers to be a home. Emotions were certainly high for Wade making his return to Lake Charles as the LSU head coach.
“I can’t say enough how appreciative I am of everybody at McNeese… just unbelievably appreciative,” Wade said, fighting back a bit of emotion.
Lake Charles and McNeese certainly mean a great deal to him. That is why this exhibition was played to help continue to raise funds for the Cowboys’ NIL. While it may seem unusual, Wade is still a fan of McNeese. He is going to keep following them and rooting for them. His message to the McNeese fan base kind of felt like an older sibling heading off to college a few hours away.
“Thank you… I am always here, and I am going to keep supporting the program anyway I can. It was certainly a big night, but I will always be here. I ain’t going anywhere, so you are stuck with me.”
Coming back full circle, Wade’s message to the LSU fanbase was full of determination and aspiration. Wade looks forward to getting his roster settled and putting on the best show he can for the Wade Brigade in the PMAC on November 3 when they host LSU New Orleans.
“This was the first step in our journey this year. We are going to be good. We are going to have a good team. Some of these guys we played tonight are good players, but we’ve got some damn good players that weren’t out there tonight… We are going to be damn good once we get everything moving,” Wade said with some joyful fire.
That brings us to what did happen on the court. LSU won virtually a ping-pong match that saw the lead change 14 times and a tie 11 different times. The box score was not pretty by any means. 18 of 52 shooting, 5 of 23 from beyond the arc, 22 of 34 from the free-throw line, 30 points in the paint allowed and 10 turnovers are by no means the best performance this team could have, but it is, after all, a completely top-to-bottom rebuilt roster. In fact, many of the mistakes the Tigers made could be credited to five players having to play 34 for more minutes. It was not a pretty win, but it was a gritty 63-60 victory for Wade in his first game back in purple and gold.
As far as individual performances, Abdi Bashir led the Tigers in assists with three, adding six points and three boards. Divine Ugochukwu led the team in scoring with 18 points while grabbing five boards. Michael Ruzic was a beast down low, grabbing 16 rebounds and adding 11 points and one assist. Mo Dioubate, whom Wade described as a warrior, scored 16 points, had eight rebounds and one assist. Donovan Dent finished third on the team in points with 12 and tied Ugochukwu for third in rebounds with five and added one assist. Jordan Bender and Strake Pearson also played 11 and three minutes, respectively.
While there is certainly a lot to clean up for LSU before November 3, it is important to note that this McNeese team is extremely talented and extremely well coached. Wade spoke very highly of his friend and new head coach of McNeese, Bill Armstrong, the team and the atmosphere the Cowboy faithful create.
“The defense is as good as ever; that is one of Bill’s trademarks: ‘no driving lanes,’ Wade said, obviously already knowing so much about the program he was at the helm of just 566 days ago. “That is a talented, talented team that is nine, ten deep. I would assume we will be the last team to win in here this year.”
There is a lot of work to do and some pieces still to be added. This is by no means a ready-for-market LSU team, but there are still three weeks and some changes before it needs to be ready.
“S***, we looked good with the full group (in practice), we look like a team that could beat just about anybody with the full group. Yeah, we’re good. I mean we played with five guys tonight. We played five guys 34-plus minutes,” Wade said.
Next up for the Will Wade-led Tigers is the exhibition against the UCF Knights on October 14 in the PMAC at 7 p.m. CT.