Five years of wandering through the landscape of college basketball, Shahada Wells was still searching for a place to call home.

Nobody would ever have guessed he found it in a program that was coming off the most losses in its history and for a new coach trying to rehabilitate his reputation.

Eight games into the season, McNeese State appears to have hit the daily double with the combination of Will Wade as head coach and Wells taking the reins as the new star.

“Coach Wade told me what he was trying to do here and I believe in him,” Wells said. “This is a perfect fit, a perfect offense for me.”

The Cowboys are off to a 6-2 start with Wells as their unquestioned leader and spark plug.

Wells scored 36 points Tuesday night in an 81-60 victory at Alabama-Birmingham, the most impressive win to date. It came 10 days after the graduate transfer posted a career-high 37 at Western Carolina.

But Wells has been more than a scoring machine. In his brief time on campus, the 6-foot guard who graduated from Texas Christian last spring with a degree in communications, has become a leader and mentor with the Cowboys.

“He has been great on the court for us, but where he has been even better is as an individual,” Wade said. “He has been a million times better in all areas than I could have ever hoped for.”

Wells was the centerpiece of the recruiting class for Wade and the Cowboys who were looking to make a quick splash.

“(Wells) was the one player Coach Wade said we had to get last spring,” said assistant coach Veron Hamilton. “He can score on anybody.”

After spending his first two seasons at Tyler (Texas) Junior College, the Amarillo, Texas, native transferred to Texas-Arlington where he averaged 16.8 points a game as a junior. He earned second-team All-Sun Belt Conference honors for his efforts.

His two following seasons at TCU had their ups and downs, as he struggled first with injuries and then playing time. Last year he averaged 5.9 points a game.

“There were some tough times there,” Wells said. “I thought about quitting basketball after getting hurt the first year. I got along with the coaches and everybody, but it wasn’t the right fit.”

So with his one remaining season of eligibility, Wells went looking for the right place to end his college playing days. Wade zoned in on Wells right when he took over as Cowboys coach.

“You look at his numbers at Arlington and you could see he could score,” Wade said. “That is much more on the same level as McNeese, so I knew what we were getting.”

Wells has delivered.

He is averaging 18.4 points and 3.6 rebounds a game. Wells is also second on the team in assists with 24 and first in steals at 17 to go along with five blocked shots and 15 turnovers.

Wells is hitting 54.3 percent of his shots from the floor (57-for-105) and 48 percent (12-25) on 3-point tries.

The extra offensive opportunities are exactly the reason why Wells chose McNeese.

“Scoring is the fun part of the game,” he said. “It gets everybody excited and going. And I wanted to find a place where I could show off all of my game.

“I also really like to pass and get others involved and going. It is fun when we all share the basketball.”

Wells and the Cowboys have gained a new level of attention.

“I think you will see a lot more to come,” Wells said. “We are a good team and we are going to surprise a lot of people if we already haven’t.

“And one game I’m going to score 40.”

Sure looks like Wells has found his perfect home in Lake Charles.