Cajuns add transfer
UL LAFAYETTE MEN'S BASKETBALL ADDS EAST TENNESSEE STATE TRANSFER TIRAS WADE
Tampa Bay area native led ETSU in scoring last season, will redshirt in '03-04 and be eligible in '04-05
LAFAYETTE - Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball head coach Jessie Evans announced Tuesday the addition of Tampa, Fla., native and East Tennessee State University transfer Tiras Wade to the program effective for the 2003-04 season.
As per NCAA transfer rules, Wade must sit out the 2003-04 regular season in order to retain his current eligibility status.
He will redshirt at UL Lafayette in 2003-04 and return to the court in 2004-05 as a junior with two years of eligibility remaining.
Wade, a McDonald's All-American nominee at Tampa Tech High School, led the Buccaneers of ETSU, members of the Southern Conference, in scoring last season averaging 16.3 points per game. He ended his two-year stint with the Buccaneers averaging 13.5 points per game in 46 contests.
The 6-6, 195-pound guard started 17 games as a sophomore for the Bucs in 2002-03. Wade averaged 28 minutes per contest, shot 46.8 percent form the floor including 45.3 percent from beyond the arc, averaged 5.6 rebounds per game and shot an impressive 81.2 percent from the free throw line.
He made 24 three-pointers on 53 attempts and was 65-for-80 at the charity stripe. His three-point percentage rose dramatically after a freshman season in which he shot just 28 percent from beyond the arc.
"He's a solid player who has all of the perimeter skills which will help our program after the graduation of several key players at the end of next season," said Evans in reference to seniors Brad Boyd, Laurie Bridges and Antoine Landry graduating after the 2003-04 season. "The single-most important quality that attracted our attention was the fact that he is a solid student in the classroom.
"Another plus for him is that he's accustomed to playing basketball at this level after having spent two full seasons at East Tennessee State," Evans continued. "He will use the 2003-04 season as his redshirt season and will work at continuing to develop his game and getting bigger and stronger. He's also looking forward to the opportunity to one day play alongside his friend Orien Greene."
Wade had his best career game last season against Virginia-Wise, netting 34 points on 13-of-16 shooting on Dec. 16, 2002. Was 6-for-7 from three-point range, just missing out on the school record of seven. The following week he was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week.
Wade scored a game-high 32 points in ETSU's overtime win over UNC-Greensboro on ESPN2's nationally televised game Jan. 4. He also led the team in scoring in wins over The Citadel (16 points) and Charleston (14 points).
Wade also had a pair of 14-point scoring performances in games against SEC-members South Carolina and Vanderbilt. He was 6-for-7 at the free throw line against the Commodores in 30 minutes of action.
As a freshman Wade played in every game for ETSU and started the last 10. He was a member of the All-Southern Conference Freshman team and was fourth on the Bucs squad with an 11.8 scoring average and scored in double figures 18 times.
At Tampa Tech High School, Wade was a two-year starter for head coach Adrian Johnson. He averaged 29.9 points per game and 8.2 rebounds per outing in his senior campaign. For his efforts he was a member of the All-State First Team following his senior season.
UL Lafayette, the two-time defending Sun Belt Conference West Division champions, will open the 2003-04 regular season on Tuesday, Nov. 18 in the opening round of the preseason NIT at Georgia Tech in a nationally televised game on ESPN at 6 p.m. (CDT).
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