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LSU athletics was the subject of another controversial poach this basketball season.
The Tigers brought back former coach Will Wade, who was initially fired in 2022 as a result of an NCAA notice of allegations against his program, after one year at NC State. The nature of Wade's departure has, understandably, been the subject of some scrutiny.
On Monday, On3's Wilson Alexander reported that Wade's return to LSU was "looming" for more than a year, with Gov. Jeff Landry reportedly pushing behind the scenes to tab Wade to replace now-former coach Matt McMahon. The Athletic also reported on Sunday that Wade's hiring was "in the works" for months, and that only NC State was blindsided.
That, paired with the Wolfpack's struggles down the stretch this season, has fueled speculation that Wade decided to leave for LSU before it became public — and before he publicly denied interest in the job.
During his introductory press conference on Monday, Wade responded to those rumors. He also seemed to call out NC State athletics director Boo Corrigan, who was critical of the way Wade left last week.
"I think some of the things have been mischaracterized on how I left, but I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth... The people who need to know, know," Wade said. "When there's a situation like this, everybody has to cover, let's put it that way. I'm at peace with how I left, I'm at peace with what we did. Look, they're pretty mad for a coach they didn't think was very good."
Those comments may fire up the LSU fanbase, but they surely won't do much to put out the fire at NC State, which is reportedly set to hire Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey to replace Wade.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: LSU Basketball: Will Wade claps back at NC State in press conference
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The Tigers brought back former coach Will Wade, who was initially fired in 2022 as a result of an NCAA notice of allegations against his program, after one year at NC State. The nature of Wade's departure has, understandably, been the subject of some scrutiny.
On Monday, On3's Wilson Alexander reported that Wade's return to LSU was "looming" for more than a year, with Gov. Jeff Landry reportedly pushing behind the scenes to tab Wade to replace now-former coach Matt McMahon. The Athletic also reported on Sunday that Wade's hiring was "in the works" for months, and that only NC State was blindsided.
That, paired with the Wolfpack's struggles down the stretch this season, has fueled speculation that Wade decided to leave for LSU before it became public — and before he publicly denied interest in the job.
During his introductory press conference on Monday, Wade responded to those rumors. He also seemed to call out NC State athletics director Boo Corrigan, who was critical of the way Wade left last week.
"I think some of the things have been mischaracterized on how I left, but I'm not gonna get into a back-and-forth... The people who need to know, know," Wade said. "When there's a situation like this, everybody has to cover, let's put it that way. I'm at peace with how I left, I'm at peace with what we did. Look, they're pretty mad for a coach they didn't think was very good."
Those comments may fire up the LSU fanbase, but they surely won't do much to put out the fire at NC State, which is reportedly set to hire Tennessee associate head coach Justin Gainey to replace Wade.
Contact/Follow @College_Wire on X and @College_Wires on Threads. Like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of college sports news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: LSU Basketball: Will Wade claps back at NC State in press conference
Continue reading...
