By GLENN GUILBEAU, Tiger Rag Editor
LSU basketball coach Will Wade is now up to nine roster players, according to various reports, if they all can get eligible from professional leagues overseas as well as NBA teams.
Forward Saliou Niang (6-foot-6, 190 pounds) of Virtus Bologna in Italy committed on Wednesday. A former 58th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, Niang, 22, played in three games for an NBA summer league team. He averaged 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds this past season for Virtus Bologna and chose LSU over North Carolina.
NEWS: 23-year-old French native Brice Dessert has committed to LSU, a source confirmed to me.
— College Basketball Content (@CBBcontent) May 19, 2026
The 7-0 center played in Turkey this past season for Andalou Efes. He averaged 8.7 PPG on 80.6% shooting. pic.twitter.com/DgBP0FLaf8
Wade has reportedly also received a commitment from 22-year-old center Brice Dessert (7-0, 247 pounds), a pro player for Andalou Efes in Turkey. He averaged 8.7 points this past season.
Celtics 2020 second-round pick Yam Madar is committing to LSU for basketball
— SleeperCeltics (@SleeperCeltics) May 18, 2026
Madar played 3 Summer League games for the C's in 2021, but has played in Europe for the past 6 years
He turns 26 years old in December
The NCAA eligibility rules are in shambles pic.twitter.com/GM0Fddhqf4
And Wade has received a commitment from Yam Madar (6-3, 181), a 26-year-old pro point guard for Hapoel in in Tel Aviv, Israel, according to another report. He averaged 11.1 points and 3.9 assists last season.
Also on Tuesday, Wade signed former All-American and Big East Player of the Year from the 2024-25 season in shooting guard/small forward RJ Luis (6-foot-7, 215 pounds) of St. John’s, according to CBS Sports. Luis averaged 18.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.4 steals as a starter in 32 of 35 games for St. John’s two seasons ago for coach Rick Pitino.
Luis went to Mt. Zion Prep Academy in Lanham, Maryland, and played for Massachusetts in the 2022-23 season before transferring to Pitino and St. John’s. He went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, but signed a contract with the Utah Jazz before being traded to the Boston Celtics. They sent him to their G League Maine Celtics team. Luis never played in a professional game, but there could be legal issues facing him and LSU before he can play at LSU because of his NBA contracts.
ICYMI: @GoodmanHoops' message for Will Wade 👀
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) May 19, 2026
"I wish he didn't come back to college basketball. I honestly mean that. I like Will, I've known him since 2007. But man, you suck for college basketball right now. You're making it into a mockery. Look in the mirror and understand… pic.twitter.com/5vrL46xcSS
Wade will be trying to get him eligible for the 2026-27 season along with his other pro players on his roster. His recruiting style was rippling through the college basketball world on Tuesday via Twitter.
Source: Tom Izzo is the coach who was NOT happy with the addition of RJ Luis to the LSU tigers roster.
— Jon Rothstein (@NotJ0NRoth) May 19, 2026
Izzo also remarked Wade is “one of the most useless basketball minds” in the sport. https://t.co/mGBTo43y2H
And it was getting stronger as Pat Forde joined the fray.
Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, Will's gotta scam. https://t.co/NHB5FqbeGT
— Pat Forde (@ByPatForde) May 19, 2026
Previous commitments and/or signees were Austin Nunez, a transfer guard from Texas-San Antonio, transfer guard Abdi Bashir Jr. from Kansas State, transfer point guard Divine Ugochukwu of Michigan State, Kentucky transfer forward Mouhamed Dioubate and center Marcio Santos, a European professional player in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Be the first to comment