Will Wade is hoping people will see a different type of LSU team when he begins his second tenure as the Tigers’ head coach.
LSU opens the season against LSU New Orleans (formerly New Orleans) on Tuesday night in Baton Rouge, La.
“We’ve tried to become more balanced,” Wade said. “Our first time here (2017-22), we were really good on offense most years and pretty poor defensively. Our last year, we were really good defensively and pretty average on offense.
“To be a championship-level team you’ve got to have some balance and so we want to play complementary basketball and have a little bit more balance to what we’re doing.”
Wade was fired by LSU late in the 2021-22 season after committing NCAA recruiting violations that brought sanctions on the program and him personally when he returned as head coach at McNeese in 2023.
After taking the Cowboys to two NCAA tournaments in as many years and taking N.C. State to the First Four last season, Wade returned to the Tigers to replace Matt McMahon.
LSU finished 15-17 and 3-15 (last place) in the SEC last season and was picked 14th in this year’s preseason poll. At one point during the summer Wade had no players on his roster, but he cobbled together a group that includes former UCLA point guard Donovan Dent, who averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 assists last season.
LSU New Orleans head coach Stacy Hollowell inherited a similarly bare cupboard when the Privateers hired him two seasons ago. His first team finished 4-27 and 2-18 in the Southland Conference before improving to 15-18 and 12-10 last season.
The university’s rebranding to emphasize its presence in the LSU System has included an increased athletics budget. The added money has enabled the Privateers to schedule just four guarantee games compared to nine last season.
LSU New Orleans will also visit Texas Tech, Arizona and Kansas. The reduced number of high-profile opponents was also partly a result of prospective foes noting that the Privateers opened last season with a 78-74 road win against TCU.
“That’s what happens when you go on the road and pop somebody the year prior,” Hollowell said. “It’s harder to get games.”