LSU pulls the curtain back on Thursday night.
We think.
First-year head coach Will Wade will load up the bus with some, perhaps not all, of the 2026-27 when LSU takes on McNeese, former program in a scrimmage. Wade has insinuated that LSU’s participation in Thursday’s matchup may be limited.
Currently LSU has four players listed on its official roster. The indication is that a couple of more may dress and play, others likely will not.
That makes putting together a “What to Watch for” very difficult, but it does pique my interest in the scrimmage in the legacy Center in Lake Charles.
DIVINE FROM DEEP
One player we know will be available for LSU is Michigan State transfer Divine Ugochukwu. The 6-foot-3 junior guard has played a lot of ACC and Big Ten basketball. He started 16 games at Miami as a freshman and 12 more at Michigan State last season.
He’s a good ballhandler and assist man, with smooth penetrating ability and some good steals numbers. He’s also been a poor free throw shooter.
The biggest difference between his first season and last two seasons was his shooting from three-point range. He went from subpar to really good. At Miami, he shot 6-for-34 (18%). That makes life on the perimeter for a driver miserable. No one is going to respect the shooting ability. Last year in East Lansing, he improved to 19-for-43 (44%) which is exceptional.
Was that a hot streak, or a player showing significant improvement? Thursday won’t tell that story for sure, but it’ll be a first look.
POST PLAYERS
I have no idea what LSU’s frontcourt looks like.
Mo Dioubate is 6-foot-8, but he’s more of a wing with the ability to defend a little bit around the rim. He’s not a true post.
Is Michael Ruzik available and ready as a young player? Brice Dessert is a physical presence with professional experience. I’m not sure he’s eligible. Gilad Levy is well over seven-feet tall, but can he play?
Jordan Bender was the lone prep signee in this class. He’s another 6-foot-8 body, but he’s probably more of a project.
It’s possible LSU plays this scrimmage without a post presence at all. That won’t be very enlightening. But if they do, I’ll look forward to evaluating how some of the bigs move and play.
ANSWERS AFTERWARD
Those who have listened to me know that I’m not big on analyzing press conference answers in most cases. Coaches praise opponents whether they’re worthy or not. Schematic questions often aren’t answered. In-house secrets stay that way.
It’s a lot of fluff.
Perhaps that’s what we get from Wade’s postgame, but I’m curious to hear. I’ve never seen a situation quite like this one and likely won’t again any time soon. The cloudiness surrounding LSU’s roster is interesting at the very least and concerning if you squint.
Maybe Wade has some sort of timeline to lay out. Maybe he won’t. He’s generally one to give pretty colorful answers at the microphone. I’ll be listening.
