Three Key Strategies Will Wade Uses to Build a Dominant Team

• By William Markey

Will Wade made history by leading McNeese State to its first-ever NCAA tournament win, defeating Clemson Clemson 69–67 in a thrilling matchup in the first round. 

Hired just two years earlier on March 12, 2023, Coach Wade has quickly transformed the program, establishing a winning culture and fostering a team that competes at the highest level.

Before taking the reins at McNeese, Wade enjoyed a successful coaching career, including notable stints at LSU and Chattanooga, where his high-pressure defense and relentless style of play helped him earn recognition as one of the premier coaches in college basketball.

Wade's approach has elevated McNeese to new heights, as demonstrated by their recent NCAA tournament victory victory, with a commitment to discipline, high-energy play, and a focus on both offense and defense, Wade has quickly turned McNeese into a program to watch.

Here are three key elementselements that showcase how Coach Wade built a successful team: his focus on winning habits, his effort-driven accountability, and his relentless defensive system. Each emphasizes discipline, hard work, and a relentless drive for success while maintaining a clear, results-oriented framework.

Winning Habits

Coach Wade outlines the core principles of his high-energy, results-driven coaching philosophy. He emphasizes the importance of urgency in every practice and drill, where every moment matters and every action is tracked—every drill has a winner and a loser, and the results are posted for the team to see. 

His system is built on fostering winning habits, where the goal is to develop players who understand what it takes to win both on and off the court.

His offense prioritizes great spacing, ball movement, and a relentless drive to attack the paint—with a specific focus on getting three passes, a ball reversal, and a paint touch in over 70% of possessions.

The approach is straightforward, tough, and performance-driven. The message is clear: if you want to succeed in his system, you must be ready to put in the work—every play, every second, every day.

Effort and Execution

He introduces a highly structured system of accountability designed to instill discipline, effort, and appreciation in his players.

Every action, from punctuality to effort, is meticulously tracked and rated on a scale from 1 to 5. These ratings are updated weekly and correlate directly to the success of the team, where even the smallest details—like being on time—can make the difference between winning and losing. This system creates a culture where players understand that every action matters and results are tangible.

Another cornerstone of Wade’s program is the value of appreciation. Players are expected to know and show respect for everyone who contributes to the success of the program, from the custodians to the managers. 

Wade teaches that true success comes not just from individual performance, but from recognizing the efforts of others and being grateful for the support that enables their growth.

This system is designed to build more than just great basketball players—it’s about creating disciplined, respectful individuals who understand that success is earned through effort, accountability, and a culture of gratitude.

Defensive Philosophy

dives deep into his defensive philosophy, emphasizing a pressure-oriented, relentless defense that is all about multiple efforts. 

Wade’s approach focuses on preventing the ball from ever reaching the paint, asserting that the most crucial element in defense is keeping the ball out of the paint.

Wade explains that while the corner three is often regarded as one of the most efficient shots in basketball, defensive positioning can counter that. 

By denying paint touches and forcing teams to take non-paint threes, his team increases their chances of success, as perimeter shots are much less effective when they aren’t the result of an inside-out paint touch.

He’s quick to acknowledge that his assistants handle the tactical aspects of defense, but his main job is to make sure his players give full effort—and that’s what he holds them accountable for in practice.

Through this intense, high-pressure, and effort-driven defensive system, Wade builds a team that thrives on disrupting offenses and controlling the game at both ends of the court.

With a philosophy that emphasizes high energy, relentless effort, and disciplined execution, Will Wade has crafted a proven system that drives his teams to success both on and off the court. Thank you, Coach and the THSCA for sharing these clips from the clinic Creating a Standard.