LSU Basketball: Will Wade passionately defends his players

LSU basketball head coach Will Wade isn’t a well-liked person among opposing fan bases.

But that’s not a bad thing. It usually means a coach is doing something right.

On Wednesday night, after the Tigers’ 70-67 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide, Wade received some criticism on social media from non-LSU fans for his post-game rant.

Here’s the rant:

Wade was responding to a sequence of events that happened with just over eight minutes remaining in the second half.

Tigers guard Eric Gaines drove to the basket for a layup which was blocked by Alabama forward Noah Gurley. Wade thought the block was actually a goaltend (it was close).

After Tigers guard Brandon Murray was called for a foul, Wade stormed onto the court in protest and was hit with a technical foul.

There’s nothing wrong will Will Wade being passionate

I know there are mixed feelings about Wade in the world of college basketball.

But there’s a reason his team is 15-2 midway through the season.

Wade’s a good basketball coach. And the players play hard for him — likely because of stuff like this.

A basketball coach having his players’ backs publicly builds a lot of respect in the locker room.

Other fan bases might see this video of Wade and immediately feel disdain for the LSU head coach. And that’s fine. It doesn’t really matter what opposing fan bases think.

All that matters is what the players in the locker room think.

And it’s clear that this team is a family.

“We’ve got the right stuff to us – that connectedness,” said Wade after the game (via 247Sports). “Unbreakable. I’m as proud as I’ve been of this team all year tonight, and that includes the damn wins.”

Everyone is waiting for the Tigers to fall apart this season when the tough portion of the schedule hits. But I just don’t see it happening. There’s something about this team that should make folks believe.