College basketball head coach Will Wade was fired from LSU in 2022 after allegations of misconduct and recruiting violations, before becoming head coach at McNeese State from 2023 to 2025, and then head coach at NC State before resigning this past March and returning to LSU. And his return to LSU is off to a slimy start.
Rob Dauster and Jeff Goodman discussed Wade and his recruiting efforts on Tuesday’s edition of The Field of 68. Dauster provided the details to set up the conversation, and Goodman went on to deliver a fiery rant blasting Wade.
“They have three transfers- Mouhamed Dioubate from Kentucky, Abdi Bashir from Kansas State, and Divine Ugochukwu from Michigan State committed to the program. And they have four overseas players,” Dauster explained. “They have a kid named Saliou Niang, an Italian kid that was born in 2004. Brice Dessert from France was born in 2003. They’ve got a Brazilian that’s been playing in the EuroLeague named Marcio Santos, the guy that everyone thought was going to end up going to Kentucky when Mark Pope visited him, who was born in 2002.”
“And over the weekend, there was a report that they got a commitment from Yam Madar, who was born in 2000, who will be 26 in November, who was drafted in 2020, the same draft class as Anthony Edwards, James Wiseman, LaMelo Ball, and his countryman Deni Avdija,” Dauster continued. “The report is that he’s going to be getting paid $5 million. I don’t know the exact number. The price of it doesn’t really matter. It’s the simple fact that a 26-year-old Euroleague pro, that was one of the highest-paid players in the EuroLeague, which is the second-best league in the world, is going to be able to come to the United States and play college basketball.
“And that on top of the fact that RJ Luis, who was a Big East Player of the Year in 2025, who played three seasons at UMass and at St. John’s, and who had the opportunity to come back to school last year and probably make well into the seven figures with a crooked numbers in front, and decided to stay in the NBA Draft, has ‘committed’ to LSU.”
Goodman then needed a moment to collect himself before going off about how Wade.
“Will Wade, I wish you didn’t come back to college basketball,” Goodman began. “I honestly, I mean that. I like Will. I’ve known Will since he was an assistant at Harvard back in 2007, 2008. But, man, you suck for college basketball right now. Seriously. You suck for college basketball. Like, you’re making it into a mockery. And look in the mirror, and understand it’s not just about you. This is about more than just you. This is about the sport of college basketball. Have some pride. Have some dignity. Don’t try to ruin the sport.”
“The first sign was when you hired ‘Slick Rick’ Stansbury,” Goodman said. “That was the first sign when you got to LSU that you were going to muck it up as much as humanly possible. I know people are trying to push the rules. I get it. Scott Drew did it last year with James Nnaji. Nate Oats did it last year, obviously, with Charles Bediako.
“But this is ridiculous. This is absolutely ridiculous. First of all, you got a second chance here after running out of the sport. You were great at McNeese State, and then, you know what? Another high-major gave you an opportunity at NC State. And what did you do? You did this after one year (flips middle finger). You did this after one year at NC State, and you said, ‘I’m gone. I’m going back to LSU.’
“And now it’s the same sh*t all over again. Obviously, the rules have changed. We know that. But, come on, man. Again, have some pride. Have some dignity in your profession! In your profession! Have some dignity. F*ck.”
Goodman explained how he talked to four high-major coaches on Tuesday, “all top-20 guys,” about Wade.
“The first one was, I tweeted it earlier, ‘You’re being an idiot as*h*le just for the sake of being an idiot as*h*le. What you’re doing is f*cking it up for everyone else. It’s a blatant ‘f*ck you.’ And some really good coaches are going to leave the game because of you. This is stupid. It’s not fun. It’s a blatant ‘f*ck you.’ It’s really disheartening.’
“Another one just said, ‘This sh*t is so f*cked up. Who would do that?’ He said, ‘Who else would have done this? You don’t have to do this.’ He said, ‘Nobody else. Will Wade is the only coach in America who’s going to do this.'”
So, clearly, Goodman is not alone with these feelings in the college basketball world about Wade’s tactics being a big problem, and it will be interesting to see how many other people in the sport sound off about it.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.