When Will Wade made his stunning return to LSU after just one season at NC State, it sent shockwaves through college basketball. Now, as he faces the monumental task of rebuilding a program that's essentially starting from scratch, Wade is turning his gaze overseas.
The Tigers currently have just one player on the roster—Kentucky transfer Mo Dioubate—leaving Wade with a blank canvas. But the veteran coach isn't panicking. In a recent appearance on CBS Sports' Inside College Basketball with Jon Rothstein, Wade revealed that "seven or eight guys" are already lined up to join the fold, and he's planning a heavy international recruiting push to fill out the roster.
"This year, I'm going to lean a little heavier on the international route," Wade explained. "This is the last year that a lot of kids over there are going to be eligible, some of the older kids... because of the clock issues, this will be the last year some of those guys are going to be eligible."
Why go global? Wade sees a unique opportunity in experienced international prospects who bring a polished, seasoned approach to the game. "Those kids have a lot of experience, there's just some natural things they've learned over there that really help in college basketball and can translate to us in college basketball," he said.
It's a pragmatic strategy for a coach who knows the clock is ticking. Wade was fired by LSU in 2022 amid NCAA infractions, but the arrival of new athletics director Heath Schroyer and university president Wade Rousse—both of whom worked with Wade at McNeese—paved the way for his triumphant return. The Tigers made the NCAA tournament in Wade's final season before his departure, but under Matt McMahon, they missed the Big Dance in all four seasons.
Wade acknowledged that waivers and other logistical hurdles are slowing the process as LSU looks to build its 2026-27 roster. He also noted that he'll place less emphasis on depth compared to the team he assembled at NC State, instead focusing on quality and experience. For a program in rebuild mode, that international pipeline might just be the fast track back to relevance.