The LSU men’s basketball coach, Will Wade, is trying his best to ruin college basketball. After stints at McNeese and North Carolina State, he was brought back to Baton Rouge this offseason, reuniting him with the team he coached from 2017 to 2022. His first time around, Wade was investigated, fined, and ultimately fired for recruiting violations. It doesn’t appear he has learned much, as his recruiting style in 2026 is already upsetting people around the country.
How LSU Coach Will Wade Is Ruining College Basketball
This offseason, the veteran head coach has taken a unique approach to building the LSU roster. It began with the signing of Marcio Santos. The 23-year-old is a 6-foot-9, 250-pound big man who made his professional basketball debut in 2018 for the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB). He also declared for the 2023 NBA draft, went undrafted, and played five Summer League games for the Atlanta Hawks. Now he’s a Tiger.
In addition to Santos, Wade has brought in 22-year-old Salio Niang, a EuroLeague professional and the 58th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. He’s also acquired 23-year-old Brice Dessert, who has five years of high-level professional experience in Europe, and Michael Ruzic, a 19-year-old Croatian who most recently played in Spain’s top professional league.
That’s not even the worst of it. The most headlining and controversial move was Wade enticing RJ Luis Jr. and Yam Madar to play for him. The 23 and 25-year-olds were selected in the 2020 and 2025 NBA drafts, respectively.
Luis Jr began his collegiate career in 2022 at UMass Amherst before transferring to St John’s after one year. There, he earned All-American honors and was named Big East Player of the Year before appearing in three NBA preseason games. Madar was selected by the Boston Celtics with the 47th overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He has played professional basketball since 2018 for Israel, another experienced international pro.
Wade is clearly trying to ruin the integrity of college basketball with his controversial recruiting style, and paying the price for doing so. Madar’s reported $5 million signing is one of the most expensive signings in the NIL era.
Wade’s reputation has taken a massive hit among fellow head coaches as well. Florida head coach Todd Golden said, “When you’re bringing in 25-, 26-year-olds that have, first of all, been drafted and have played professionally for an extended period of time—that’s not what college athletics is supposed to be.”
Golden is one of many to call out the LSU coach for his recruiting antics. A starting lineup of Niang, Luis Jr., Santos, Madar, and Dessert would round out at an average age of nearly 24 years old. For comparison, the San Antonio Spurs rolled out a starting lineup that averaged just under 23 years old in the Western Conference Finals. The Michigan starting lineup that won the most recent National Championship had an average age of 22.
Wade has introduced an NBA roster to college basketball. It is unfair for the programs that can’t afford to pay multi-millions of dollars for international veterans. It’s also unethical to the athletes who have worked hard to get recruited as teenagers just to have their spot stolen by a 24-year-old.
College basketball is beloved because the sport is unpredictable. “Expect the unexpected” is a common phrase during the March Madness tournament because the majority of the participating athletes are teenagers and inexperienced under the spotlight. Meanwhile, Wade is gathering a team full of seasoned and accomplished players, and it will destroy the balance that fans have fallen in love with for decades.
Taking advantage of the NIL rules in college basketball will ensure Wade is seen as the villain of college basketball in the upcoming season.
