LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade made a few things clear on Wednesday.
The Tiger roster currently has a full complement of 15 players. The group has been together since early September, is enrolled in school and working toward their first scrimmage on October 8 versus McNeese.
Plenty remains unclear, though.
Officially, LSU’s current roster includes just four players, and there isn’t a lot of urgency to clear up exactly why.
“I know there’s been some frustration probably with how we’ve done this, but we’re always going to protect our kids, and there’s a reason behind all this,” Wade said. “And I’m not going to sit here and explain our reasoning behind everything, but when we recruit kids, and when we go about things with our players, we always are going to protect them, and we’re always going to do what’s right by them.”
Traditional transfers Divine Ugochukwu, Austin Nunez, Adbi Bashir Jr. and Mouhamed Dioubate are the official four listed on the athletic department’s athletic website.
Wade also commented on the skill sets of foreign frontcourt players Brice Dessert, Saliou Niang and Michael Ruzik. UCLA fifth-year transfers Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent are with the program.
Jordan Bender was the lone high school addition to the program. Israeli center Gilad Levy committed in August as the team’s 11th player.
Former Big East Conference Player of the Year RJ Luis won a temporary restraining order to play, but Wade declined to comment on him in light of the SEC publicly denouncing players who have signed with NBA and NFL franchises. He would be the team’s 12th member.
“This is a one-year deal…what we’re doing now,” Wade said of the heavy lean on European players and former professionals. “It’s going to get back to high school recruiting. I think one thing that’s grown is LSU’s brand is even stronger just across everything since I was here the first time.
“People still want to be a part of the culture in Louisiana. People still want to be in Louisiana, and so that part certainly helps us in recruiting.”
Wade declined to give a timetable on the eligibility decisions on the rest of his roster, but his uncertainty about the team’s first public appearance suggested it’s truly still to be determined.
The Tiger head coach will bring his team to his former stomping grounds at McNeese State in Lake Charles for a scrimmage on October 8 no matter how many of his current roster gets on the bus.
“It’ll be a really, really tough game, especially depending on how our roster looks when we show up that day,” Wade said. “No matter how our roster looks, we got five guys, we’re going to go play the game. If we get beat, and we go up there and play the game, we’re going to go play the game. We owe it. We said we’re going to be there. We’re going to be there. We’re not going to check out.”
This time of year generally doesn’t come with so many public question marks. Wade’s confidence is unwavering despite the negative national chatter.
He’s learned over the last decade that he may not always win in the court of public opinion, but his concern is on the court where the balls bounce.
“I’m not hiding from this…what we’re doing is unconventional,” Wade said. “I understand that. But 20 years ago, Airbnb was unconventional. Everybody stayed in a hotel. Fifteen years ago, you rode in a taxi everywhere. Now, you take Uber.
“So, just because it’s unconventional doesn’t mean it’s not going to work. Now, it may not work. If it doesn’t work, write about what an idiot I am. I understand that. We’re gonna be unconventional. We’re gonna be unapologetic about it. It is what it is. This is who we are. This is what we’re doing. and this is the path that we charted. We’re going to go down it.”
