Florida head coach Todd Golden ripped his LSU counterpart, Will Wade, for recruiting former professional players ahead of his first season back with the Tigers.
"When you're bringing in 25-, 26-year-olds that have, first of all, been drafted and then played professionally for an extended period of time, that's not what college athletics is supposed to be," Golden said on the "Field Of 68" podcast.
"I know a lot of it has changed. The financial piece is as important and influential as ever. And the players are now getting a significant piece of the pie, which they rightfully deserve, but, again, this is not what college basketball is supposed to be."
Wade has made headlines this spring for targeting players outside the high school ranks. Earlier this week, LSU reportedly signed former Utah Jazz and Boston Celtics guard RJ Luis Jr., a St. John's product who was named the Big East Player of the Year during the 2024-25 season.
Luis inked an NBA two-way contract last year after going undrafted and proceeded to suit up in three preseason games with the Celtics. The 23-year-old isn't currently eligible to play college basketball, and LSU will likely file a lawsuit seeking a waiver to allow him to suit up in 2026.
The Tigers also recently received a commitment from 22-year-old Senegalese-Italian forward Saliou Niang, whom the Cleveland Cavaliers selected in the second round of the 2025 draft. He then spent last season playing for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A and EuroLeague.
In addition to Luis and Niang, Wade is targeting former Celtics draft pick Yam Madar and is ready to offer the Israeli guard an NIL salary estimated at $5 million, according to Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom.
"This will be a net positive because we're gonna have to see some action," Golden added. "We're gonna have to see if guys like this are gonna get cleared or not. I don't think they have a great chance to, but you never know, and maybe Will knows more than us."
Wade returned to LSU in late March after being fired by the school in 2022 following investigations into alleged recruiting violations. He spent two seasons at McNeese State and another at NC State in 2025-26 before coming back to Baton Rouge.
LSU finished with a 15-17 record last season. The program hasn't won an NCAA Tournament contest since the 2020-21 campaign.
