By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
Who’s on first?
Who’s at point guard?
Who’s at center?
Better yet, who’s on the freakin’ LSU men’s basketball team at all?
It is one week from LSU’s exhibition opener at McNeese State in Lake Charles on Thursday, Oct. 8, and LSU’s website still lists only four players on the Tigers’ roster. They are all transfers – 6-foot-5 senior guard Abdi Bashire Jr., of Kansas State, 6-8 senior forward Mouhamed Dioubate of Kentucky, 6-2 senior guard Austin Nunez of Texas-San Antonio and 6-3 junior guard Divine Ugochukwu of Michigan State.
Last week, new LSU basketball coach Will Wade pointed to other teams in similar situations like Gonzaga and Brigham Young, which had few or zero players on their roster. Well, as of Thursday, both of those teams have full rosters of 15 listed on their websites. Auburn and Florida also have each recently released full rosters with Auburn at 17, counting two walk-ons off scholarship, and Florida at 15.
Welcome to the new “normal” of college basketball with your host … World Wild Will Wade. Column:https://t.co/wGrEic3yv9
— Glenn Guilbeau (@SportBeatTweet) September 25, 2026
Wade said he could have released his roster last week, but he he is holding off as “three or four” players from overseas still have eligibility and/or paperwork issues. Gonzaga, though, lists four players from overseas and BYU three on recently updated rosters, and Florida lists seven from overseas. Auburn has two from overseas and one from Canada.
Wade has said he has been practicing with 15 players for more than a week. Tiger Rag’s projected list of 13 of those 15 follows:
TIGER RAG PROJECTED LSU MEN’S BASKETBALL 2026-27 ROSTER (13 Of 15)
NAME, HT., WT., POS. CLASS, PREVIOUS COLLEGE OR PRO TEAM, HIGH SCHOOL, AGE
-ABDI BASHIR JR., 6-5, 170, Guard, Senior, Kansas State, Phoenix Prep, Phoenix, Arizona, Age: 22 – on official roster
-JORDAN BENDER, 6-8, 200, Forward, Freshman, Northside Christian School, St. Petersburg, Florida, Age: 18
-SKYY CLARK, 6-3, 210, Guard, Senior, UCLA, Montverde Academy, Montverde, Florida, Age: 23
-DONOVAN DENT, 6-2, 185, Guard, Senior, UCLA, Centennial High, Corona, California, Age: 22
-BRICE DESSERT, 6-11, 247, Center, Freshman, Andalou Efes pro team, Istanbul, Turkey, Age: 23
-MOUHAMED DIOUBATE, 6-8, 235, Forward, Sr., Kentucky, Putnam, Queens, New York, Age: 22 – on official roster
-GILAD LEVY, 7-3, 242, Center, Freshman, Palencia pro team, Palencia, Spain, Age: 24
*-RJ LUIS, 6-7, 215, Guard/Forward, Senior, St. John’s, Christopher Columbus High, Miami, Age: 23
-SALIOU NIANG, 6-6, 190, Forward, Freshman, Virtus pro team, Bologna, Italy, Age: 22
-AUSTIN NUNEZ, 6-2, 175, Guard, Senior, Texas-San Antonio, Wagner High, San Antonio, Texas, Age: 23 – on official roster
-MICHAEL RUZIC, 7-0, 160, Forward, Freshman, Joventut pro team, Catalonia, Spain, Age: 19
-LUKE STANSBURY, 6-2, 185, Guard, Redshirt Freshman, Stephen F. Austin, Age: 21
-DIVINE UGOCHUKWU, 6-3, 200, Guard, Junior, Michigan St., Clements High, Sugar Land, Texas, Age: 20 – on official roster
*RJ Luis received a temporary restraining order from a Baton Rouge judge against the NCAA on Aug. 24 that has allowed him to practice and potentially play for LSU this season, which begins on Nov. 3 against LSU-New Orleans. That was even though he signed contracts with two NBA teams after going undrafted in 2025 following his junior season at St. John’s. Luis will soon have to clear other legal hurdles, however. Alabama’s Charles Bediako also received a temporary restraining order from a Tuscaloosa judge, allowing him to play last season, despite previously playing in the NBA developmental league. But the same judge later sided with the NCAA and reversed the ruling after Bediako played in only five games.
Wade’s roster was discussed on Tiger Rag Radio on Tuesday night with 247sports.com writer Zack Nagy, who agreed that Wade and LSU should release one new player a day leading up to the exhibition opener. And producer Kace Kieschnick suggested a “Midnight Madness” roster reveal in the tradition of how teams used to draw capacity crowds for practices at 12 a.m. on the first day teams could practice.
“If we’re going to make it a game, make it a fun one,” Nagy said. “If it’s one a day, two a day whatever it is. That would be hilarious.”
Nagy and other reporters were comparing roster notes after Wade’s press conference on Sept. 23 in which Wade casually discussed players who are not yet on LSU’s roster, but they are practicing. He discussed top senior transfer guards Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent of UCLA and three incoming freshmen who are former pro players from overseas – 6-foot-11 Brice Dessert, 7-foot Michael Ruzic and 6-6 Saliou Niang.
“No one knows who the heck is on the roster,” Nagy said. “We’re sitting their collaborating, trying to put our rosters together. Like, man, I have no idea who’s on this roster. I don’t know how he (Wade) gets to 15. I mean, it’s unbelievable. There are a lot of guys that no one knows about. He’s keeping it swept under a rug. So, I think a good amount of people will be in Lake Charles for that game to see what this roster looks like, because it’s completely unknown at this stage.”
But when everything is out in the open, it looks like Wade will have a very good team with the potential to compete in the Southeastern Conference and reach the NCAA Tournament, which his teams regularly did during his first term as LSU’s basketball coach from 2017-22.
“If everything goes accordingly, and you do get most of these guys eligible, I do think this could be an NCAA Tournament team,” Nagy said. “There are three or four guys like he mentioned that they’re trying to work through. But if you can get a guy like Niang eligible, pair him with a Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent, that’s a really strong trio in the back court. Bryce Dessert is another guy who you’d love to see get on the floor this year. That’s a really strong core of four players to work with. Saliou Niang is going to be a dude. He’s a really talented player. He can thrive with Will Wade. There are a lot of talented players here. Just got to put the puzzle together and get some of these guys eligible.”
Like many, Nagy can’t wait to see what Wade puts out there.
“At the end of the day, there are going to be some guys who are denied eligibility,” Nagy said. “It’s going to be super fascinating to watch it unfold. Will’s going to bend the rules as best he can always and try to put together a national championship-caliber roster.”
That is what got Wade fired in 2022 from LSU after the NCAA found several of the most serious, Level 1 recruiting violations. After a year in exile, Wade landed as McNeese State’s coach in the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons before one season at North Carolina State in 2025-26. Then he returned to LSU with few NCAA rules to be concerned with as players now get paid handsomely legally via Name, Image & Likeness collectives.
“It’s the Will Wade method,” Nagy said. “You love him. You hate him. But he’s one heck of a coach, and really excited to see how this roster takes shape. Will Wade is one of the most competitive coaches in the sport. Like we all said, he’s going to bend the rules and be unapologetic and do everything he can to make this team competitive. I’m really excited to watch the trajectory of this program, because Will Wade is such a master class recruiter.”
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