Who's Next to Fly the Coop for LSU Basketball?

Tigers have multiple highly touted prospects expected to look elsewhere

LSU basketball will be starting from scratch in pretty much every single way following its 2022 NCAA Tournament run. The current roster is likely to be stripped away and the current players signed and committed to the team under Will Wade are sure to do the same.

This week, 2022 forward signee Devin Ree became the first player to open his recruitment up and there are three other prospects who will be making similar decisions in the coming weeks. Fellow 2022 forward Julian Phillips, one of the more gifted scorers in the high school ranks is certainly going to garner a ton a of interest from other top college programs. 

Phillips, like Ree, signed his letter of intent with LSU back in November so the school still has to relieve both players of their NLI, which will happen without much push back considering the circumstances. College athletes, particularly in basketball and at a program like LSU, come to the Tigers for the relationships they build with their coaches. 

Wade was viewed as an elite level coach in relating to what players needed in their basketball development. SI All-American basketball recruiting director Jason Jordan recently wrote a piece which backed up the point of view that Wade related to players in a personal way.

"The prevailing sentiment among prospects connected to LSU is clear: Wade was the draw, a player’s coach extraordinaire who had the innate ability to connect with players on levels that transcend the hardwood," Jordan wrote.

LSU also has center Yohan Traore, another five star committed to the program and picked up an offer from Auburn and Bruce Pearl on March 15. Considering the upward trajectory the Auburn program is obviously on, particularly the way Pearl developed big men Walker Kessler and Jabari Smith this season, it wouldn't be a bit surprising to see Traore wind up at another SEC school. 

LSU also secured a commitment from 2023 point guard Marvel Allen and with a full year to go in his recruitment, he still has plenty of time to change course as there were many suitors the Tigers beat out including Alabama and Georgia in the SEC. 

Recruiting is in for a complete tail spin as athletic director Scott Woodward will have a tough enough time finding a coach that wants to come to a program with the impending punishment LSU faces, much less finding players to jump on board to. It's going to be a rough few months following the season to search for much positive men's basketball news as the Tigers look to find another consistent winner they just let go.