The LSU Tigers announced on Friday that the team has suspended Head Coach Will Wade indefinitely. The decision came after Wade along with Arizona’s Sean Miller were called to testify in the college basketball corruption trial. A wiretap reviled what appeared to be Wade discussing a deal with Christian Dawkins.
Road Warriors??
? Only LSU team to go 9-0 in SEC Road play
? 5 Overtime Victories
? Tied atop SEC with one game left? https://t.co/brCo9uumYg pic.twitter.com/SmPxoMYvyc
— LSU Basketball (@LSUBasketball) March 7, 2019
This comes at the worst possible time for the LSU Tigers who have one game remaining before the SEC Tournament begins. The Tigers are in line for a share of the SEC Regular Season Championship and the one seed in the SEC Tournament. LSU athletic director Joe Alleva had the following to say when addressing the media about the situation.
“All of us at LSU share the obligation to protect the integrity of this institution, as such, we have suspended Head Coach Will Wade indefinitely until such time as we can ensure full compliance with the NCAA, as well as institutional policies and standards. Assistant coach Tony Benford will assume the duties of interim coach.”
The calls between Wade and Dawkins seem to center around former top 50 recruit Javonte Smart and the handling of his recruitment. Different payments and benefits were discussed for Smart between the two in the phone conversations. The Tigers will certainly be impacted by the loss of their head coach.
LSU is hosting Vanderbilt on Saturday and is still expected to win the game. Implications for the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament are unclear, but Wade is not expected to be coaching for the remainder of the season. The fact remains that this will certainly impact the basketball program at LSU moving forward.
