Will Wade Addresses Thin LSU Roster, Promises Potential

Will Wade made his first appearance with LSU media since his March 30 introductory press conference.

The LSU men's basketball coach's appearance on Tingle & Co. on Tuesday came amidst concerns over LSU's roster, as at the time, only one player was signed while LSU had numerous staff hirings announced.

Many fans were concerned about the state of their program after his tumultuous return to LSU, which saw a lot of money thrown at old coaches, new coaches, and the roster, but came with little to no action on building an empty roster.

"Everybody thinks I can't count right now; we only got one guy on the roster. I said, 'I know I'm from Tennessee, but I'm not that dumb. I can count to five,'" Wade said.

The Roster Is More Built Than It Looks

LSU men's basketball — Feb 19, 2022; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Will Wade directs his team against the South Carolina Gamecocks in the second half at Colonial Life Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-Imagn Images | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

Wade directly talked about the low volume of players during his time on the show, saying, "low volume in terms of what you guys know. We got seven or eight guys, so we're not too worried."

So why can't LSU know about these seven or eight guys that the program "has?"

"Some of these guys are still playing, some of these guys are still negotiating with their teams," Wade said. "There's a lot of other things that are going on."

Wade added even more reasons.

"Some of these guys we're filing waivers for, and we need to let the waiver process take place," Wade said. "So there's a lot of other things that are going on that, you know, not necessarily need to be out in the public all the time."

What The Roster Will Look Like

LSU has just two players, Kentucky transfer Mouhamed Dioubate and Maccabi Tel Aviv's Márcio Santos. Both are forwards,

Dioubate is a 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward who averaged 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in 22 minutes.

Santos is a 6-foot-9, 23-year-old Brazilian forward who averaged 6.9 points in 14 minutes in the Euroleague and shot 40% from the 3-point line.

But what will the rest of the roster look like?

"We're only going to pay eight or nine guys," Wade said. "We're not going to pay a whole roster full of guys. We're going to pay for the guys who play. The back end of the roster will be the back end of the roster."

This handful of players are likely all from the international scene, like Santos, who will try their hand in collegiate basketball in America. And Wade is confident in the team he has assembled and will share with Tiger fans in the weeks to come.

"I would tell you, sitting here right now, we have all but one spot filled," Wade said. "And we're working on that last spot."

The Timeline

Feb 12, 2022; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers head coach Will Wade calls in a play from the bench against the Mississippi State Bulldogs during the second half at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images | Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"We're in a good place, and we feel very good about it," Wade said. "My job is to have the best players we can have by the first day of class in August at LSU. And we'll have the best seven or eight guys that we can possibly assemble from all around the world."

Wade will have his team built by August and ready for November.

"We'll be ready to compete when it comes time for November," Wade said.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google