Friday brought the recruiting update Will Wade desperately needed. The LSU men's basketball team is just about to put pen to paper on Wade's second commitment, Italian forward Saliou Niang.
Niang is headed straight for Baton Rouge after his year-long stint in Italy as a forward for Virtus Bologna. While his 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in Bolonga were respectable, Niang is auditioning for a bigger role, betting that the high-stakes environment of the SEC is the only way to truly move the chains on his development.
Saliou Niang to LSU effectively a lock
Kentucky transfer Mo Dioubate is the only player who has committed to the program since the portal opened on April 7. That put Wade's program in a seriously dire condition, to say the least.
Signing Niang puts out a solid message on Wade's transfer portal class actually getting somewhere.
And for Niang, LSU was an absolute no-brainer. The Cleveland Cavaliers drafted him at No. 68 overall in the 2025 NBA Draft, but Niang held off on signing the contract. He chose to continue developing in college sports to get pro-ready. That also translates to him getting free education, massive NIL money, and the chance to become a star in the U.S. media spotlight before he even enters the NBA.
In the current landscape, LSU’s revamped NIL war chest makes Baton Rouge the unrivaled choice for those massive NIL deals and fame.
There's also something for the Cavilers in the deal: they get to monitor his progress much closely than they could with him in Europe with this.
“Virtus Bologna has already been informed and will receive a severance payment (to be agreed upon); the player will pursue his NBA dream directly from the US,” Sportando’s Alessandro Luigi Maggi reported.
Niang's high-motor and elite defensive instincts finally makes for a start of Wade's roster that the Tiger Nation will be excited for.
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