With just more than two months until the 2026-27 season begins there are only four players on LSU's official men's basketball roster. That's not an error and says a lot about the team he is trying to build in his first season during his second act as LSU's coach. Recent court rulings have given teams a late chance to add to their rosters and Wade and his coaching staff are doing just that.
LSU got good news on Monday when a judge in Baton Rouge granted former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. a preliminary injunction for immediate eligibility during the 2026-27 season. Luis would join Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir Jr., Austin Nunez and Mouhamed Dioubate -- the four players currently listed on LSU's roster -- if his injunction holds. Although Luis was granted the injunction, the fight for him to actually suit up later this fall is far from over.
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey asked Judge Ronald Johnson in East Baton Rouge Parish court to uphold NCAA rules that prevent athletes from returning to the college level in an affidavit filed earlier this month. Putting context clues together, the likely target of that affidavit was Luis, who went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft and signed a two-way contract with the Utah Jazz shortly after. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Sankey filed an affidavit because speaking out about a former college player returning to the sport after signing a professional contract isn't new for him.
Sankey filed an affidavit earlier this year on former Alabama center Charles Bediako after he returned to the school following a stint in the G League. Bediako appeared in five games with the Crimson Tide before being ruled ineligible. One key difference between Bediako and Luis is that the former Alabama big man played in several G League games before returning to school.
Meanwhile, Luis missed the entire season and didn't play in the G League despite signing a professional contract. Despite a slow start in recruiting players in the transfer portal after being hired in March for his second stint as LSU's coach, Wade has dipped into the five-for-five waters this month by adding two former UCLA guards: Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent. Dent is arguably the biggest name who could return for another year of college basketball of all the Class of 2022 players ruled eligible for this season.
Despite having an up-and-down season during his lone year at UCLA, Dent is one of the best true point guards in the sport and can raise the floor and ceiling of any roster he's on. Clark is a valuable depth piece for LSU and could start next to Dent, as he did at UCLA. LSU also is tapping into the international market to build out its roster.
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