PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND - Former LSU Tiger head basketball coach has apparently finished his punishment from major-college basketball as reports of him taking over the NC State Wolfpack program have started to surface just hours before his McNeese Cowboys team takes the court in the opening games of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

Wade was dismissed from LSU back in March of 2022 just days before his team played in that years NCAA Tournament.  While leading the LSU Tiger basketball program Wade was accused of providing illegal recruiting incentives for potential players, incentives that are now legal in today's game.

When asked if Wade or any of his agents have spoken with NC State about their open job, Wade did not hesitate and simply answered "Yes."

Reporters covering his first round game between McNeese and Clemson asked Wade how he approaches that conversation with his team and Wade said that everything is laid out in the open.

"We addressed it head on," Wade said of his conversations with his current Cowboys team. "I talked to them Saturday about it. Here's what it is, here is where we are. It was just me and our players and we all talked about it. I'm aware of what I have got going on. They're aware of what we've got going on. You just hit it head-on. We're all on the same page with everything."

Wade has spent the last two seasons with McNeese and was expected to take a major college job this cycle after performing an impressive turnaround of the Cowboys basketball program.

For Wade the honest and simple approach appears to be the easiest when it comes to his potential future moves. "Just tell it like it is. You may not always like what I'm going to say, but I'm going to tell you what I think. I've always kind of been like that, and there's no need to hide it," Wade said of his straight forward approach.

"The guys are reading it on social media. It's no secret. I'm not going to ask them to do something I'm not willing to do. It's no good if you don't address it and if you sit there and BS them. They can read right through the BS, so you might as well, hey, this is what it is. Here we are, and we'll figure it out."