Will Wade’s LSU Is Pushing College Basketball to the Absolute Limit

Will Wade returned to LSU earlier this year with just one player on the roster. With the transfer portal closed, the men’s basketball coach said he planned to hit the international recruiting trail hard to rebuild the squad. 

He wasn’t kidding. Recent reports have made it clear Wade is building an international superteam in Baton Rouge.

Wade was fired from LSU in 2022 for violating NCAA recruiting rules. Now, four years later, those rules are much less clear. And Wade is testing them—to the extreme. 

This week, the Tigers reportedly landed a pair of commitments from professionals in former St. John’s player RJ Luis Jr. and Saliou Niang, who was the No. 58 pick in the 2025 NBA draft and played in Italy this past season. Niang has never signed an NBA contract. 

Luis spent the past season in the G League after winning Big East Player of the Year in 2024–25 and signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz in June.

They join LSU’s transfer class, which reportedly includes Mo Dioubate (22, Kentucky), Abdi Bashir Jr. (22, Kansas State), Divine Ugochukwu (20, Michigan State), and 23-year-old Brazilian forward Márcio Santos, who spent the past season in the EuroLeague playing for Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel.

Multiple Division I assistants told Front Office Sports that in an era when rules are meaningless, Wade is working the field to his advantage. 

“As long as the eligibility situation runs free, people continue to push it to the limits,” a mid-major assistant told FOS. “And with the money being thrown around, who could blame pros for coming over or trying to come back?”

LSU currently does not list a basketball roster available on its website, and school officials did not respond to requests for comment. 

The Tigers are also chasing a commitment from 25-year-old Yam Madar, an Israeli player who won the EuroCup with Hapoel Tel Aviv last year. The Boston Celtics drafted Madar in the second round six years ago, but he never played in the NBA. An Israeli outlet reported that Madar was offered $5 million to play at LSU next year. 

“Let’s Make a Judge Turn Me Down”

After Illinois made the Final Four behind their “Balkan Five,” it was clear other schools would copy them. But the extremes to which Wade is going have sent shockwaves across the sport.

“It’s different because Illinois is taking guys who are college age,” a mid-major GM told FOS. “Will Wade is taking guys who are 25. His mindset is, ‘Let’s make a judge turn me down.’”

This past college basketball season was partially defined as the year in which players came back to school. Former G League players London Johnson (Louisville) and Thierry Darlan (Santa Clara) successfully signed with college teams. Former Alabama center Charles Bediako was declared eligible by a judge weeks after playing for the Detroit Pistons’ G League team. He played five games for the Crimson Tide before his lawsuit to fully reinstate his eligibility was denied. None of those players ever played an NBA game, although Bediako briefly signed a two-way contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

Santos, at least, would likely need a lawsuit to be deemed eligible for LSU next season. The NCAA has said it will not grant eligibility to players who had signed NBA contracts, including two-way deals. 

Meanwhile, Madar’s case could be problematic if the NCAA passes its proposed “5 for 5” rule, which would give athletes five seasons to play college sports following their high school graduation or 18th birthday. Even if it passes, it could still be challenged in court. 

Madar will turn 26 in December. Madar’s eligibility situation may be aided by Israel’s military service requirement, but he served in 2021, giving him five consecutive seasons as a professional. 

European agent Miško Ražnatović represents Madar and told FOS on Tuesday that his client has “not committed” to LSU and that they’re working through his eligibility. 

One NBA scout recalled evaluating Madar years ago and projected him as a player who could get a two-way contract and might stick in the NBA as a “defensive pest.” 

College assistants expressed resignation at college basketball’s new reality, while some gave Wade credit for his approach, especially on the international side. 

Another coach told FOS that international players tend to have “cleaner” recruiting processes and don’t seek the bidding wars that U.S. players tend to. 

“There are times kids from here have changed agents or have AAU/HS/family members that feel they should have control and you never know who really has the juice,” the Power 4 assistant explained. “A lot of these international kids just let their agents handle most of the process.” 

That echoes what Ražnatović previously told FOS about not needing his clients to take official visits. 

“Why should they visit?” Ražnatović told FOS. “To see what the campus looks like? To see what the locker room looks like? This isn’t important. For any particular player, you analyze the basketball situation. If the basketball situation is good, then you go.” 

When Wade returned to LSU in March, he reportedly got a roster budget of $12 million to pay players. But if Madar’s reported $5 million offer is true, Wade is likely working with even more money. 

As the GM said to FOS, “If Will Wade could pay Naz Reid to come back and play next year, he’d do it.”