LSU coach: Stay committed in basketball, life

Showing commitment, being tough and caring about one’s teammates are some key qualities to having a successful basketball team, but they’re also important in everyday life, LSU men’s basketball head coach Will Wade said Tuesday.

Wade was guest speaker during a St. Mary Outreach fundraiser at the Petroleum Club of Morgan City. The event also included dinner and a silent auction.

St. Mary Outreach is a nonprofit, emergency service agency that assists those in need in the area with a food pantry, clothing closet, hygiene and cleaning supplies, baby diapers and formula, adult diapers, rental and utility assistance, along with life-sustaining medications when funding is available, its website says.

Wade is entering his second year as head coach of the LSU men’s basketball team having previously been a head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

He described the culture he tries to create with his team and how that culture goes beyond the basketball court.

Wade expects his players to be aggressive, committed, appreciative, care about their teammates, display leadership and show attention to detail.

Every month, Wade meets with each of his players for 15 minutes, and they’re not allowed to talk about basketball during that time.

During the first month he meets with them, he always gives his players a pen, paper and an envelope. He then tells them to handwrite a note of appreciation to someone who helped them in their lives. That person has to be an individual a player hasn’t spoken to in at least five years.

His players are always amazed at the response to those letters the next month and the impact that simple gesture can have, Wade said.

The team strives to be committed to one another, Louisiana and “something bigger than ourselves,” he said.

Wade’s LSU team came up with four attributes that the players want others to see in them. First, they want to be tough.

“This is my definition of toughness. When the chips are down, you do your best work. When things look bad … that’s when you do your best work,” he said.

Secondly, the team wants to be consistent.

“Never bet against consistent behavior,” Wade said. “The best people in your life, basketball, life, whatever, are the most consistent people.”

Thirdly, the team wants to be smart and make smart decisions on and off the court.

The final thing the players strive to be is a family.

“We want guys who are playing for each other, guys who care about each other,” Wade said.

The best moment of LSU’s 2017-18 season, for Wade, came during the final regular season home game against Mississippi State on senior night. Senior Reed Vial was a walk-on who had rarely played in his career.

One of LSU’s starters came to Wade and told the coach that he wanted Vial to start in his place.

So Wade started Vial, but the most memorable moment was late in the game when LSU already had a big lead.

“He came in at the end and buried a three. And after he buried the three, he ran back down the court, and the game was over. And our team went and swarmed him,” Wade said.

“That showed our team cared about him. That showed our team respected him. We had a family. Our team appreciated what he had done,” Wade said.

Wade summed up his team’s mentality and work ethic by saying they act every day “like we’re in double overtime in the SEC title game.”