Report: HBO Documentary to Unveil FBI Wiretap Conversations by LSU Coach Will Wade
Despite LSU basketball's season coming to an abrupt end and with most players already home, that won't keep coach Will Wade out of the news for the foreseeable future.
On Tuesday, a Yahoo report stated that Wade's wiretap conversations will be a part of an upcoming HBO documentary "The Scheme," following the college basketball scandal in 2019 that rocked the sport. Front and center of the documentary is Christian Dawkins, who is currently appealing multiple counts of fraud and bribery as a result of the FBI case that also included Arizona coach Sean Miller and former Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
The wiretaps were never played in trial and Wade was never summoned to make a court appearance as a result.
Wade was indefinitely suspended in 2019 after refusing to meet with LSU officials upon the initial release of the reports of a "strong ass offer" made to guard Javonte Smart, linking him to the scandal. Wade missed the final regular season game against Vanderbilt and the entirety of the Tigers' run to the Sweet Sixteen.
Wade was reinstated April 14 after a month long suspension ended with him meeting with LSU officials.
One particular recorded conversation that reportedly could show up in the documentary is an exchange Miller had with Dawkins about Wade "driving up the price" for former LSU forward Naz Reid. Reid would later deny that he received any money while at LSU during the NBA combine later that summer.
An excerpt of the conversation, reported first by Dan Wetzel, goes like this:
Dawkins: “And Will Wade — I told Book, I said, ‘Will Wade is like driving up the price of [players]. Cause he’s not even doing like real numbers.’ ”
Miller: “I tell you what, ‘I’ll give him credit. He’s got a big set of balls on him.’”
Dawkins: “No, Will Wade doesn’t give a [expletive], Sean.”
The documentary is set to premier on HBO on March 31 with a reported runtime of nearly two hours.
