Report: LSU’s Will Wade allegedly offered impermissible payments to 11 recruits
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach dropped a bombshell on LSU basketball and the SEC on Wednesday morning.
Schlabach reported that according to documents obtained by ESPN, LSU Coach Will Wade “either arranged for or offered ‘impermissible payments’ to at least 11 potential recruits or others around them.”
As you might remember, during the Southern District of New York’s investigation into college basketball corruption, Wade was caught on an FBI wiretap saying he had made a “strong-ass offer” to recruit Javon Smart. Wade was suspended by the school at the end of the 2018-19 regular season, but was later reinstated. He coached the Tigers in 2019-20.
According to Schlabach, the allegations against Wade were included in the NCAA enforcement staff’s request that the LSU case be handled by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process. Schlabach reports that, according to the NCAA, part of the reason for that is Wade has not given his “full cooperation” to the case.
ESPN’s Dick Vitale has been tweeting for some time that both the LSU and Arizona basketball programs were about to be hit with major allegations by the NCAA.
Wade is 64-30 in three seasons at LSU, including 21-10 with a 12-6 SEC mark last season. He was 51-20 in two seasons at VCU before coming to Baton Rouge. Before that, he went 40-25 in two seasons as head coach at Chattanooga.
This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 12:03 PM.
