LSU men’s basketball coach Will Wade has expressed confidence he’ll have a roster capable of winning this season, despite starting preseason practice with just four players officially on the roster.
LSU coverage brought to you by Rouses Markets www.audacy.com
The Tigers have added players since then, but still used only six in last week’s exhibition win over UCF.
LSU and several other schools have been awaiting NCAA eligibility rulings, and some key decisions came down Tuesday.
Two international players, Saliou Niang and Brice Dessert, have reportedly been cleared to play for the Tigers this season by the NCAA and SEC.
Niang is a 6-foot-7 wing who was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 58th overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft but never signed a contract with the team.
The 22-year-old played 27 games for Virtus Bologna in Italy last season, averaging nine points and five rebounds per game while shooting 61% from the field and 37% from three-point range.
Wade said in September that Niang reminds him of former LSU forward Tari Eason, who averaged 17 points and seven rebounds on Wade’s final LSU team. Eason now plays for the Houston Rockets.
Dessert is a 6-foot-11 center from France who averaged nearly nine points and three rebounds per game for a Turkish team last season. The 23-year-old shot 81% from the field.
Two fifth-year players from UCLA have also received clearance to play for LSU.
Skyy Clark was granted a temporary injunction allowing him a fifth year of eligibility as part of a lawsuit filed in Kentucky. Clark averaged 11.5 points per game and shot 43% from three-point range in his final season with the Bruins.
His former UCLA teammate, Donovan Dent, also received a fifth year of eligibility through a court order in California. The 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 13 points and 7.6 assists per game last season.
Dent, Clark, Niang and Dessert could all be in the starting lineup alongside 7-foot center Michael Ruzic.
LSU is still awaiting a decision on the eligibility of 24-year-old Israeli center Gilad Levy.
Meanwhile, Wade has reportedly lost hope that R.J. Luis will play for the Tigers this season, despite a temporary restraining order allowing him to compete. The SEC will not grant Luis another year of eligibility because he signed contracts with two NBA teams.
LSU has one more exhibition game Saturday at Florida State before opening the regular season November 3 against LSU-New Orleans.
