By KACE KIESCHNICK, Tiger Rag Staff Reporter
The eligibility battle wins keep rolling in for Will Wade and the LSU basketball program.
Wade’s confidence that his players would be eligible for the start of the season is paying off as multiple reports confirmed French center Brice Dessert was officially granted eligibility on Tuesday and UCLA fifth-year transfers Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark were involved in a California injunction granting them eligibility through the 2026-2027 season.
The news comes the same day that Senegalese-Italian forward Saliou Niang was ruled eligible for this season. The only setback Wade’s roster has suffered is that former St. John’s forward RJ Luis is not expected to receive eligibility this season.
Most recently with Anadolu Efes in the Basketball Super League, Dessert averaged 8.7 points, 3,3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 games this season. The 7-footer shot 80.6% from the field and played 18.8 minutes per game. He also saw 17 games of EuroLeague action, averaging nine points and 2.5 boards an outing.
Dent and Clark are two of the few American additions who were awaiting permanent rulings on their eligibility. The pair of fifth-year guards are plaintiffs in the Glancey v. NCAA California lawsuit seeking a fifth season of eligibility for approximately 76 class of 2022 college athletes. After winning a temporary injunction that allowed Dent to play in LSU’s first two exhibition games, the athletes were granted an injunction to play through the entire season on Tuesday.
Clark has not been listed on the roster or appeared in any exhibitions after filing a Request for Partial Dismissal without prejudice on Aug. 13, according to official court documents. He instead chose to focus on a Kentucky eligibility lawsuit, Wells v. NCAA. That case resulted in a temporary injunction that dissolved on Oct. 2 by the Kentucky Court of Appeals. The 38 athletes involved in lawsuit were granted a new preliminary injunction on Friday, however, and Clark is still listed as one of the plaintiffs in the California lawsuit along with Dent. Both rulings are expected to be appealed.
With the 10 players already listed on LSU’s online roster, the newly confirmed eligibility of Dessert and Clark and the resolution of Luis’s recruitment, the Tigers are waiting on just one more eligibility case to resolve before the season tips off on Nov. 3. That player is Israeli center Gilad Levy, who has a similar case to Niang and Dessert.
Be the first to comment