Will Wade got a boost this week as LSU’s roster puzzle took another step toward coming together.
Saliou Niang has been cleared by the NCAA, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress, formerly of ESPN. That makes the 22-year-old Italian-Senegalese wing eligible to suit up for the Tigers this season.
Niang should be available for LSU’s final exhibition at Florida State at noon on Saturday, after missing the first two exhibition games. The 6-foot-7 wing spent last season with Virtus Bologna in Italy, where he posted 9.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.9 steals and 1.1 turnovers across 27 games. He shot 60.8% from the field, 36.8% from 3-point range and 75.3% at the free-throw line, and his team finished 23-5 in the Italian domestic league Lega Basket Serie A.
LSU still hasn’t finalized its official roster, but the program had 10 players listed on its site before Niang’s status was resolved. Wade also has three other international players signed for this coming season.
So far, the only other one who had been cleared was 20-year-old Croatian center Michael Ruzic, who played in LSU’s exhibition games and was approved hours before the Tigers met McNeese State on Oct. 8.
Two more international centers remain in limbo. Wade is still waiting on NCAA clearance for Israeli center Gilad Levy and French center Brice Dessert.
Niang is expected to join a group that includes fifth-year UCLA transfer guards Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark, Kentucky transfer forward Mo Dioubate, Michigan State transfer guard Divine Ugochukwu, Kansas State transfer guard Abdi Bashir and UTSA transfer guard Austin Nunez.
In LSU’s most recent exhibition, a loss to Central Florida last Wednesday, Wade used only six players. When asked afterward for an update on the eligibility of some of the players who sat out, he declined to get into it because of the Southeastern Conference’s latest filing in federal court, which quoted him last month.
“I would love to update you, but because all my words are being used against us, I'm not going to,” Wade said in the postgame news conference. “I'm not trying to be a jerk.
I'm not. I’m not going to talk anything about eligibility right now just because of the situation that we've got.
I'm not trying to play coy or anything like that.”
LSU opens the regular season against LSU New Orleans on Nov. 3 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
In Other News...
LSU Heads To Auburn With Two More Starter Questions
LSUs injury picture got a little murkier coming out of the Mississippi State game, and now the Tigers are heading into Auburn with two more starter questions hanging over the week. Princewill Umanmielen and Jackson Harris both went down in the contest, and both figures are likely to land on the injury report as LSU starts sorting out who will be available for a road trip that already figures to test the depth chart.
Umanmielens issue is an upper body injury believed to be head-related, which could put him into concussion protocol, while Harris left with a foot injury and was seen in a boot afterward. Brian Kelly didnt offer any medical updates, though he did indicate Harris is expected to be fine, and LSU is prepared to lean on backups if either player cant go against Auburn. [Read more 🡒]
LSU Just Lost A Key Piece In Will Wades First Season
LSU has settled one eligibility fight before the season even tips, and the result leaves Will Wades first roster with a notable hole. Guard RJ Luis Jr. will not be cleared by the SEC to play for the Tigers after the league determined he violated conference rules tied to signing a professional contract, ending the programs battle over his status and shifting the focus to getting ready for the year ahead.
There is at least one brighter note in Baton Rouge, though, because forward Saliou Niang has been ruled eligible for the season. Niang was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers, but his decision to attend college came before recent NCAA rule changes, allowing LSU to keep him in the mix as it tries to move past the Luis situation and sort out its rotation. [Read more 🡒]
LSU-Auburn Just Got More Complicated At Linebacker
LSUs trip to Auburn took a hit when linebacker Whit Weeks suffered a fractured right leg and is expected to miss the upcoming game. Weeks has been a key part of the Tigers defensive plans, so his absence adds another layer of uncertainty to a matchup that already carried plenty of weight.
Auburn is dealing with its own linebacker shakeup after Xaiver Atkins was dismissed from the team ahead of the game, following an earlier suspension for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. Atkins has said he plans to enter the transfer portal, while Auburn coach Alex Golesh has not revealed what led to the discipline, leaving both sides with major questions in the middle of a conference matchup that was already shaping up to be tricky enough. [Read more 🡒]