While LSU’s fight with the SEC over athlete eligibility was largely focused on football, the men’s basketball team also had its own fight to fill out its roster.
New head coach Will Wade tried recruiting to his team several players who appeared beyond their college careers and pursuing NBA or professional paths. That included RJ Luis, a former St. John’s point guard who went undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, and Marcio Santos, a Brazilian who went undrafted in 2023 and has spent his entire career in Europe.
After the SEC’s threats to LSU’s athletic program over these kind of players, Wade’s team hasn’t appeared to include them as the season approaches. That didn’t stop college basketball reporter Pat Forde from asking Wade about their status at a teleconference on Tuesday.
Wade couldn’t make SEC media day, so he held a teleconference that ended up going viral when he got testy with Forde over the reporter’s questions. As Wade already has a dubious history as a college basketball coach, his team’s success will be a big storyline this year.
Here’s why Wade was frustrated with Forde.
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Will Wade snaps at Pat Forde
At Will Wade’s zoom teleconference on Tuesday, the LSU head coach apparently snapped at Sports Illustrated reporter Pat Forde, who tried to ask Wade questions regarding some players LSU tried to get on the roster.
Forde asked Wade about three international players: Marcio Santos, Saliou Niang and Levy Gilad. All three players are older and come with eligibility questions, especially Santos, who’s mention is what seemed to ignite something in Wade.
“Pat, do you follow us at all? Because Santos hadn’t been a member of our stuff since July,” Wade said, via TigerRag.com. “So, I don’t know where the hell you got that from.”
As the exchange continued, Wade apparently got more irritated with Forde coming into this teleconference with questions despite not covering the team every day.
“Do you even follow us? Or are you just here to ask ‘Gotcha’ questions?” Wade said. “Santos hadn’t even been in the equation. We haven’t announced him as signed.”
Later on Tuesday, Forde explained his side of the exchange and what his process was going into the teleconference.
“I then asked Wade about Marcio Santos, a EuroLeague pro who went through the 2023 draft process and played five NBA Summer League games,” Forde wrote. “This is when Wade launched, screaming about ‘gotcha questions.’ Wade told local Louisiana media on Sept. 23 that Santos would not join LSU, and he subsequently signed a two-year contract in Europe. Wade seemed to think being asked about that was a massive affront.”
Forde has reported on Wade for a while, dating back to Wade’s first stint with LSU that included his involvement in an FBI investigation. So, while Wade may be right that Forde does not cover LSU on a day-in, day-out basis, Forde is no stranger to LSU basketball as a whole.
