Next season of SEC basketball just got a whole lot more interesting.

Wade was terminated after the 2021-22 season following multiple years of investigation, and after a year off of coaching, wound up taking the job at McNeese State. He led the Cowboys to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances before being hired a year ago at NC State.

Wade’s Wolfpack made the tournament, but were eliminated in the First Four.

Now, he heads back to the place where he was sent packing from a half decade later under a very new set of rules.

Meanwhile, the four seasons since LSU fired Wade have been a complete disaster, dropping down to arguably the worst basketball program in the conference.

They have gone 3-15 in conference play in each of the last two seasons under Matt McMahon and have had just one winning season.

Wade’s return is a major boost not only for LSU basketball, but for the SEC as a whole, as he looks to restore the Tigers to consistent contenders for conference titles and regular NCAA Tournament appearances.