By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Do not call it the “Will Wade Rule.”
Because the NCAA had been looking into guardrails for the recruitment of overseas professional players and former NBA roster members for some time before Wade left North Carolina State after one season to become LSU’s new men’s basketball coach last March – again.
The case of Alabama 6-foot-11 center Charles Bediako also had much to do with the new NCAA eligibility guidelines just put in this month. Bediako played at Alabama from 2021-23, entered the NBA Draft in 2023, was not selected, and played in the NBA’s developmental league before rejoining the Alabama team last season. The NCAA ruled Bediako ineligible after five games last February, and his season was done after averaging 10 points, 4.6 points and blocking seven shots
The NCAA is now saying that players who have “entered an agreement with, competed on or received compensation from a team that participates in a league with minimum compensation that exceeds actual and necessary expenses” would not have college eligibility.
“The NCAA’s new eligibility requirement guidance that could significantly impact top international talent headed to college basketball was distributed by the NCAA earlier this month,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney last week.
The guidelines distributed by the NCAA on May 8 details new pre-enrollment eligibility requirements largely surrounding compensation and the involvement of players on professional teams.
“How aggressively the requirements will be enforced is unclear,” Sweeney wrote. “But they lay the groundwork for the NCAA to push back significantly on professional players in Europe and other top international leagues enrolling in college.”
After Wade missed on several transfer portal targets from the United States during the portal window from April 7-21, including some from North Carolina State, Wade looked overseas. He currently has four commitments from overseas pro players, one former overseas player as a signee (Brice Dessert of the Andalou Efes team in Istanbul, Turkey) and one former NBA roster member as a signee (RJ Luis of Utah and Boston in the NBA after St. John’s). That’s six players – more than half of the current roster of 11 he is trying to get into LSU – under the NCAA microscope.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, by the way, came out against member school Alabama last February after the NCAA correctly ruled Bediako ineligible. Sankey signed an affidavit of agreement with the NCAA on its move against Bediako, once again blowing away the conspiracy theories many LSU and Auburn fans hold regarding the SEC office being 45 minutes from the Alabama campus.
When asked about LSU signee RJ Luis, whose situation is similar to Bediako’s, this week at the SEC Spring Meetings in Miramar Beach, Florida, Sankey said his stance on Luis is the same as his stance on Bediako.
“My position on these issues has not changed,” Sankey said. “I support the NCAA providing clarity and upholding the rules to which we have agreed.”
Wade was asked about the new NCAA guidelines directly involving his 2026-27 class in the works while he was at the meetings on on Wednesday.
“We feel very comfortable in our position,” Wade told the Baton Rouge Advocate, avoiding the specifics of the question. “We’ve got a job to do – a big task ahead of us. We’ve got to get it done.”
But how with the new rules?
“We’ll let that play out,” Wade said, which could’ve been code for he’ll see how the NCAA tries to enforce these new rules.
Asked if he was still recruiting players, Wade said, “We may get another couple.”
Or three or four?
Wade is in his second term as LSU’s basketball coach. He was previously the coach from 2017-22 before being fired for several major NCAA recruiting violations directly involving him. He resurfaced as McNeese State’s head coach for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons, then went to North Carolina State for the 2025-26 season.
NCAA OUTLAW: WILL WADE’S LOUISIANA PURCHASES
Wade’s six possibly new players with eligibility issues with class designations for the 2026-27 season at LSU are the following:
LSU POSSIBLE NEW PLAYERS WITH ELIGIBILITY QUESTONS
-Signee Brice Dessert, Center, 6-11, 247, Fr., Andalou Efes pro team in Istanbul, Turkey, Pontoise, France, native, Age 23.
-Signee RJ Luis, Guard/Forward, 6-7, 215, Sr., St. John’s Transfer, Miami native, Age 23. … Signed in 2025 as undrafted free agent by Utah before being traded to Boston.
-Commitment Yam Madar, Guard, 6-3, 181, Fr., Hapoel pro team in Tel Aviv, Israel, Beit Dugan, Israel, native Age 25.
-Commitment Saliou Niang, Forward, 6-6, 190, Fr., Virtus pro team in Bologna, Italy, Dakar, Senegal, W.Africa native, Age 22. … 58th pick in 2025 NBA Draft by Cleveland.
-Commitment Michael Ruzic, Center, 7-0, 160, Fr., Joventut club pro team in Catalonia, Spain, Besancon, France, native, Age 19.
-Commitment Marcio Santos, Center, 6-8, 250, Fr. Maccabi pro team in Tel Aviv, Israel, Native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Age 23.
LSU OTHER NEW PLAYERS VIA AMERICAN NCAA TRANSFER PORTAL AND WITHOUT NBA TIME
-Abdir Bashir Jr. Guard, 6-7, 175, Sr., Kansas State Transfer, Burnsville, Minnesota, native, Age 21.
-Mouhamaed Dioubate, Forward, 6-7, 220, Sr., Kentucky Transfer, Queens, New York, native, Age 22.
-Ahmad Hudson, Forward, 6-6, 239, Fr., Ruston High, Ruston native, Age 17.
-Austin Nunez, Guard, 6-2, 185, Sr., Texas-San Antonio Transfer, San Antonio, native, Age 23.
-Divine Ugochukwu, Guard, 6-3, 195, Jr., Michigan State transfer, Sugar Land, Texas, native, Age 20.
WILL WADE TARGETS MISSED VIA THE PORTAL
-No. 2-ranked Kansas State point guard PJ Haggerty, who went to Texas A&M.
-No. 6 Seton Hall center Najai Hines, who went to Connecticut.
-No. 5 Georgia combination guard Jeremiah Wilkinson, who went to Arkansas.
-No. 4 Georgetown small forward KJ Lewis, who went to USC.
-No. 5 North Carolina State guard Matt Able, who went to North Carolina.
-No. 15 Florida Atlantic guard Deven Vanterpool, who went to Providence.
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