An updated look at what the first Will Wade roster back with the LSU Tigers is going to look like.
Will Wade and the LSU Tigers have been hard at work putting together his first roster in Baton Rouge. With training camp beginning in just a few weeks, they are still adding players.
One of the most crucial additions to date came on Friday night, as the Tigers added former UCLA Bruins point guard Donovan Dent. Dent is a fantastic distributor, averaging 13.3 points and 7.6 assists per game for the Bruins last year. He had 20.4 points and 6.4 assists for the New Mexico Lobos two seasons ago.
Now they have a legitimate veteran point guard to run things with a lot of talent throughout the roster. Of course, there are some players who still need to make it to the basketball court without the real court keeping them off it, but on paper, this is a very good team.
Here is the current projected LSU roster for Wade's first season:
Guards
Skyy Clark
Donovan Dent
Austin Nunez
Divine Ugochukwu
Over the past couple of weeks, the Tigers have assembled the Bruins' starting backcourt from last year with Clark and Dent. While UCLA didn't win anything major last year, they did at least make it to the tournament. Now, they could have even more talent around them to help push even further than the second round.
Nunez and Ugochukwu are both proven depth pieces. LSU feels much better with this construction rather than relying on them to start.
Wings
Abdi Bashir Jr.
Jordan Bender
RJ Luis
Saliou Niang
Bashir is one of the best pure shooters in the country. He shot 44.4% from three on 8.4 attempts last season for the Kansas State Wildcats. It's clear what Wade is going to be asking him to do for the Tigers.
Luis could be the single best player on this team, but also could be the hardest to get eligible, given that he has already signed an NBA contract and has even been traded. Greg Sankey is trying to keep him from playing, as he filed an affidavit in a Louisiana court ahead of Luis' preliminary hearing on Monday.
Bigs
Mo Dioubate
Brice Dessert
Michael Ruzic
Marcio Santos
LSU will have a pure seven-footer on its roster this year with Ruzic. He won't be the defensive core of the team, though, because he's actually a fun offensive threat. He is a good shot-blocker, though. Dessert is going to be another big presence in the paint and at the rim.
Dioubate is going to be a versatile defensive piece, while Santos brings aggression and the potential to space the floor a bit.
