LSU assistant coach Tasmin Mitchell ran across the court with his hands held high above his head signaling “44.” Other assistant coaches like Greg Heiar stood with the players in front of the LSU fans who made the trip to Florida, and all involved chanted, “Forty-four! Forty-four!” in unison.
It was a celebration birthed in tragedy. A celebration meant to honor teammate Wayde Sims, who was killed in Baton Rouge on Sept. 28, the day of what was supposed to be LSU’s first practice of the season.
And no matter what LSU has done this season since that day, they’ve done it for one reason — Sims.
Even though Sims wasn’t there physically after LSU’s last second 69-67 win over Maryland in the second round of the NCAA tournament, he was there in every other way possible. Each of LSU’s coaches and players wear a pin or patch with Sims’ name and number 44 on it, and they carry the memories of their lost teammate every day.
Others like junior guard Skylar Mays have done different things as well to make sure Sims isn’t forgotten.
Mays wears a custom-made pair of shoes in pregame warm-ups designed to honor Sims, and makes sure to write a memento to Sims on his shoes he wears during the game. The two were high school teammates and played basketball together for most of their adult lives.
It’s why the “forty-four” chant instead of the usual “L-S-U” refrain means so much to Mays.
“[Sims] is with us every day. He is the driving force in this thing,” Mays said. “We always try to bring attention to him in our own ways, and then when we’re together, we try to bring attention to him. Wayde is who this is all about, the Sims family and everybody who has supported us.”
Support outside of Baton Rouge and Louisiana has been tough to come by for LSU in recent weeks, however.
The Tigers have been under a public microscope following the suspension of head coach Will Wade, but all the team has done is manage to pull the team even closer together. Interim coach Tony Benford gave credit to Mays and sophomore guard Tremont Waters for taking ownership of the team and making sure everyone sticks together.
“We’re a family,” Waters said. “At the end of the day, like I said, nothing is going to break us as long as we have each other. We just have to keep pushing. The outside noise doesn’t really matter. We’re the ones on the court playing, and as long as we stay together and keep building faith in each other then we’re going to be great.”
Benford echoed Waters’ sentiments and said the team has three aspects that have helped them advance – trust, love and respect.
LSU hopes those three things can continue to help carry them past the Sweet Sixteen where they will play Michigan State, and possibly even farther in the NCAA tournament. But even with strong team characteristics, the Tigers may still need a few more game-winning baskets from Waters to get where they want to be.
And Waters isn’t worried if he has to make a play to win the game similar to the way he did against Maryland. He knows LSU has something the other team doesn’t – a true sixth man.
“I honestly put my faith in God, and God made the ball go in,” Waters said after his game-winning shot against Maryland.
“And Wayde Sims made the ball go in.”

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Mitchell Scaglione

LSU junior guard Skyler Mays wears shoes to honor Wayde Sims during the Tigers' 80-59 victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday, March 9, 2019, in the PMAC.