Will Wade May Take A 3 Dog Night From Portal As “1 Is The Loneliest Number”

By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor

It has been three long weeks since the NCAA Transfer Portal opened, and big talking new LSU basketball coach Will Wade still has all of one player on his roster.

That is No. 8-ranked small forward Mouhamad Dioubate (6-foot-7, 220 pounds), who will be a senior for the Tigers in the 2026-27 season after transferring from Kentucky. And, “One is the loneliest number,” according to the song “One” that was covered by “Three Dog Night” after its original recording by Harry Nilsson.

Feels like LSU needs more than one basketball player for next season.

— Hunt Palmer (@HuntPalmer88) April 27, 2026

“You won’t find anybody that’s more proud to wear that LSU and state of Louisiana than this guy right here, and we’re going to find 15 players that are willing to lay it on the line for us every night,” Wade said at his introductory press conference in front of nearly 1,000 fans at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on March 30.

“We’re going to build a winning program, and we’re going to build this thing quick,” he said. “This is not something that’s going to take long. We’re going to get in that portal when it opens, and we’re going to put together a winner because everybody in here deserves a winner.”

Will Wade Down to ZERO Players As Jalen Reece Enters Portal, But He Was This Slow Last Year

But so far, Wade’s pursuit of several highly ranked portal players has rimmed out.

And on Monday he missed on a high school player as 247sports.com’s No. 9-ranked prep power forward and No. 55 prospect overall Miikka Muurinen (6-foot-10, 205) of KK Partizan High in Serbia, committed to Arkansas. He first visited Razorbacks’ coach John Calipari in the fall of 2024. Muurinen was a Wade target, according to Glen West of 247sports.com.

Wade had been recruiting Muurinen during Wade’s one year as North Carolina State’s coach in 2024-25. Muurinen visited NC State last July and also had offers from Indiana and Kentucky.

In addition to Muurinen, the following SEVEN portal players believed to be targeted by Wade as transfers have recently committed to other schools with rankings by 247sports.com:

-No. 32 overall and No. 7 center Aiden Sherrell (6-11, 255) of Alabama to Indiana on April 15.

-No. 132 overall and No. 25 small forward Terrance Arceneaux (6-6, 205) of North Carolina State to George Washington on April 15.

-No. 31 overall and No. 5 combination guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (6-1, 185) of Georgia to Arkansas on April 14.

-No. 85 overall and No. 18 small forward KJ Lewis (6-4, 210) of Georgetown to USC on April 14.

-No. 115 overall and No. 17 shooting guard Devin Vanterpool (6-4, 190) of Florida Atlantic to Providence on April 14.

-No. 49 overall and No. 11 point guard Jalan Lowe (6-1, ,170) of Kentucky to Georgetown on April 13.

-No. 6 overall and No. 1 point guard PJ Haggerty (6-4, 195) of Kansas State to Texas A&M on April 10.

WILL WADE’S PORTAL CLASS CHECKS IN AT NUMBER 91 IN THE NATION

Wade’s portal class is currently ranked No. 91 in the nation by 247sports.com and 15th of the 16 Southeastern Conference schools as the rest of the country is leaving him in the smoke for now.

From the SEC, Texas is No. 2 with five commitments, followed by No. 4 Tennessee with six, No. 8 Texas A&M with five, No. 14 Missouri with three, No. 16 Vanderbilt with five, No. 18 Alabama with four, No. 24 Ole Miss with five, No. 38 Kentucky with two, No. 44 Auburn with five, No. 49 Oklahoma with three, No. 52 Arkansas with two, No. 61 Mississippi State with three and No. 66 Georgia with two.

Louisville is No. 1 overall with six commitments. Wade’s former school, North Carolina State, is at No. 28 with five.