Lane Kiffin comments on LSU hiring men's basketball coach Will Wade

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LSU men’s basketball brought back fan favorite head coach Will Wade last week, convincing the previously fired LSU head coach to leave NC State to return to Baton Rouge. Wade was the second significant hire LSU made this offseason, and arguably just as controversial as the first — that, of course, being Lane Kiffin.

Kiffin was asked about Wade’s return during a press conference on Tuesday, and his response gave some insight into how Kiffin sees Wade as a relatable figure and how much he values Wade’s loyalty to the program.

“I talked to [Wade] the other day, obviously, he’s extremely excited about it,” Kiffin shared. “From what I know, which I don’t know a lot about basketball, you know, he’s been very successful everywhere he’s been. And I think too, if you’re passionate about a place, and you’re a really good coach, that’s a really good combination.

I know there’s been a lot of judgment about whether he should go, and he just got there, and all of those things, I probably have a unique view of that. But I just think everything is everybody’s story, they’ve got one life to live, and what they choose to do, and what they believe their story is after they get the best information that they can from the people that are closest to them, then they make their decisions. Then, in my opinion, it’s that person’s job to prove that decision right.”

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Kiffin and Wade’s respective hirings share many parallels. Wade was dismissed from LSU after the NCAA officially issued a notice of allegations based on investigations into reports of recruiting violations. Wade was then hired by McNeese State University the following year, where he served for the next two seasons. NC State signed Wade to a six-year contract in March 2025, which Wade coached under for only one season before LSU hired him away last week. This decision caused a lot of anger from NC State’s fanbase, similar to Ole Miss’ when Kiffin left for LSU last December.

Now, Wade has returned to LSU, where he is being welcomed with open arms. Wade wants desperately to be at LSU, something Kiffin highlighted when discussing the news.

“It speaks volumes about LSU,” Kiffin said. “There’s somebody that understands everything about LSU, understands the power of LSU, went through a very unique situation, kind of had a breakup, and then makes the decision to come back. To me, that says a lot about LSU.”

While there are certainly a lot of negatives that can be drawn from these two hirings, what they ultimately demonstrate that LSU is one of the superpowers in college athletics. The fact that Wade and Kiffin were willing to risk their respective reputations in order to coach for this school shows just how powerful LSU truly is.

This article originally appeared on LSU Wire: Lane Kiffin comments on LSU hiring men's basketball coach Will Wade

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