Will Wade Recaps Start of SLC Play, Injuries, & More

After the sluggish start to the season through a blistering Non-Conference schedule for McNeese State, it has been all but sluggish to start the Southland Conference slate for the Pokes. Will Wade sat down with the media today to discuss the start of conference play, gave us an update on injuries, and more.

After what some would consider a "bad" start to the season with a tough non-conference slate, you could say Will Wade and company are glad to be back in the Southland Conference.

When you look back at the grand scheme of the non-conference slate, it wasn't all bad. Heck, McNeese was more competitive inside the SEC than Will Wade's old stomping grounds in Baton Rouge have fared through two games. That is with McNeese taking on two top-25 teams in Alabama and Mississippi State. In those games, the Cowboys lost by 11 points: 8 to Alabama and 3 to Mississippi State. The games McNeese let slip by are South Dakota State, Liberty, and Santa Clara.

McNeese has shot the ball well here in Conference Play, a lot of that has to do with getting a few more open looks than before. "You can mask a lot of things when you make a lot of threes. We are a good shooting team. I've been saying that even when we were one of the worst, we are getting closer to the mean now, which is good," said Will Wade on Wednesday.

A guy who has really shot it well in Southland Conference Play has been DJ Richards, "He's getting open looks. Once he (DJ Richards) sees the first 1 or 2 shots go in, you never know what's gonna happen. Sometimes you just hope he doesn't shoot them from halfcourt," said Wade when asked about what he has seen from Richards.

McNeese has had its fair share of injuries as it started off the year with Alyn Breed going down, and his timetable is still unknown, but it does sound like the Pokes will be getting back Brandon Murry who has missed the last few games with a knee injury, "He was 70-80% on Monday, so we anticipate he will be come to 100% by the weekend, so we should have him fully available. He was available on Monday, but we told him that we would play him if we needed him and fortunately, we didn't need him."

McNeese State will take on Nicholls on Saturday inside the Legacy Center as a part of a Double Header with the Women's team starting the day off at 1:00 with the Men's Game at 4:00. "Nicholls is a great program and they have tremendous guard play" said  Wade. "They've added some pieces in the portal and are as well-coached as any team in our league. We are going to have to be physical, they're tough."

Wade had high praise for former McNeese assistant turned Nicholls State Head Coach Boog Saddler, "Boog is one of the premier coaches in the country, not just in the league."