Lousiana State University head men's basketball coach Will Wade has been suspended indefinitely amid concerns about whether his recruiting tactics violated NCAA rules, the school announced Friday. LSU Chancellor F. King Alexander and athletic director Joe Alleva said in a joint statement Friday that the school has suspended Wade "until such time as we can ensure full compliance with the NCAA, as well as institutional policies and standards." They have appointed assistant Tony Benford as interim head coach. Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that Wade was recorded by the FBI discussing with middleman Christian Dawkins about a "hell of an offer" for a then-recruit believed to be LSU freshman guard Javonte Smart. TWO LSU FOOTBALL PLAYERS INVOLVED IN FATAL SHOOTING WERE BEING ROBBED, POLICE SAY "Recent media reports regarding coach Will Wade are without question concerning to all of us," Alexander and Alleva's joint statement said. "As such, we and university officials have taken deliberate and purposeful steps to fairly assess and adequately address this situation. ... We are closely coordinating with the NCAA with every step. They have our full cooperation and we will continue to report to them all facts and information on this matter." The middleman Dawkins is one of several people convicted in October of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for funneling illegal payments to families of recruits to Louisville, Kansas and North Carolina State. In the Yahoo! report, Wade is described expressing his frustration with an unidentified third party handling the recruitment of player referred to only as "Smart." 9 LSU FRATERNITY MEMBERS ARRESTED FOR SHOCKING HAZING INCIDENTS Wade is quoted on a transcript of the call saying that he made a strong offer that was "tilted toward taking care of" the player and his mother, but that the third party who received the offer was unsatisfied with his "piece of the pie." The report also stated that it was not clear if the offer Wade discusses would violate NCAA rules, or if the player and his family knew of, or accepted, the offer, of which there were no specific details. "I cannot comment at this time on various media reports, except to say that they do not begin to tell the full story," Wade wrote in a statement to the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "I understand the University had to take action before all the facts are in, but I would ask everyone to withhold their judgment until the record is complete." CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP LSU's 25 regular season victories are tied second most in program history with the 2000 and 2009 teams and behind only the 1981 Final Four team that won a school-record 27 regular-season games. The 1981 team went on to finish the postseason with an LSU-record 31 victories. The Associated Press contributed to this report.<doc-sep>LSU basketball head coach Will Wade has been suspended “indefinitely” by the school after Yahoo Sports reported new details about FBI-intercepted phone calls Wade had in 2017 regarding alleged payments to a player. Freshman point guard Javonte Smart will not participate in his team’s final regular-season game on Saturday, against Vanderbilt. “This decision does not suggest, in any way, wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing on Javonte’s part or his family,” LSU said in a statement. “Javonte and his family have been fully cooperative and open with university officials.” Advertisement Yahoo published its report on Thursday, and it contained excerpts from a 2017 conversation between Wade and “basketball middleman” Christian Dawkins. Dawkins was sentenced to six months in prison last week for wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy. An Adidas executive and a former consultant for the shoe company were also charged. Advertisement Advertisement According to Yahoo, the FBI wiretap caught Wade discussing an “offer” with Dawkins, though no specifics are mentioned in the excerpt of their 2017 conversation. “I was thinking last night on this Smart thing,” Wade said. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m [expletive] tired of dealing with the thing. Like I’m just [expletive] sick of dealing with the [expletive]. Like, this should not be that [expletive] complicated.” … “The problem was, I know why he didn’t take it now, it was [expletive] tilted toward the family a little bit,” Wade continued. “It was tilted toward taking care of the mom, taking care of the kid. Like it was tilted towards that.” Advertisement (The “he” in question is an unnamed third party.) The Tigers are currently ranked No. 10 in the nation. “From day one, I’ve been focused on building a winning program,” Wade wrote in a statement to The Times-Picayune. He added that he “cannot comment at this time on various media reports, except to say that they do not begin to tell the full story.” In the wiretap, Wade expresses frustration that he was having trouble with the recruit despite it being a “hell of an offer … Especially for a kid who is going to be a two- or three-year kid.” The comment is in reference to the fact that Smart was not projected to be a one-and-done star. According to a statement from the school, LSU’s decision to hold Smart out for the final game of the regular season was made out ”of an abundance of caution and as a result of the lack of clarity.”<doc-sep>Photo : Sean Gardner ( Getty Images ) LSU suspended coach Will Wade on Friday in the wake of a report from Yahoo Sports that revealed Wade was caught on a wiretap speaking about making payments to current freshman guard Javonte Smart. In a phone conversation with Christian Dawkins—who was recently sentenced to six months in prison for wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy—the coach talked about the frustration of a third party not taking a strong offer to get Smart to commit to LSU. This was the portion of the conversation the report chose to highlight: “I was thinking last night on this Smart thing,” Wade said. “I’ll be honest with you, I’m [expletive] tired of dealing with the thing. Like I’m just [expletive] sick of dealing with the [expletive]. Like, this should not be that [expletive] complicated.”﻿ [...] “Dude,” Wade continued to Dawkins, referring to the third party involved in the recruitment, “I went to him with a [expletive] strong-ass offer about a month ago. [Expletive] strong. “The problem was, I know why he didn’t take it now, it was [expletive] tilted toward the family a little bit,” Wade continued. “It was tilted toward taking care of the mom, taking care of the kid. Like it was tilted towards that. Now I know for a fact he didn’t explain everything to the mom. I know now, he didn’t get enough of the piece of the pie in the deal.” Dawkins responded by saying, “Hmmmm.” “It was a [expletive] hell of a [expletive] offer,” Wade continued. “Hell of an offer.” “OK,” Dawkins said. “Especially for a kid who is going to be a two- or three-year kid,” Wade said. Nothing in that conversation mentioned anything about the offer’s specifics, or whether the offer was against any kind of NCAA policy. All that’s known from the transcript is that an offer existed. Nonetheless, LSU decided to take proactive steps to protect the program from the NCAA’s wildly inept hammer of justice and removed Wade from the program indefinitely. Advertisement In a statement to NOLA.com, the coach expressed his understanding of why the school did what it had to do, but also tried to maintain an image of innocence on his part saying, “would ask everyone to withhold their judgment until the record is complete.” Any kind of judgment would most likely come not from the fact that he potentially had a hand in paying a player, but the fact that he vehemently denied having “done any business of any kind” with Dawkins back in October—which is also probably why LSU was quick with the suspension trigger. Perhaps the most annoying comment about this situation came from SEC president Greg Sankey who said in a statement, “I support the action of LSU in its suspension of head men’s basketball coach Will Wade. The information in recent news reports is very disturbing, if true.” Calling the act of player maybe receiving money for his basketball-playing abilities “disturbing” is complete and utter nonsense that’s a result of the posturing the NCAA’s absurd regulations force on these assholes. The only reason this whole case happened in the first place is because the draconian policies of the association creates a system where the players miss out on the compensation they’re owed so that those at the top can receive big salaries. There really wouldn’t be a fraud case otherwise. What makes the “disturbing” characterization even more bothersome is that when you look at the context of the transcripts, this topic only came up over the phone because too much of “the pie” Smart and his mother for the middle man’s liking. Above all else, the only information that was revealed in the reports was that something was vaguely offered, which has to make you wonder what other inconsequential events in Sankey’s life meet the very low threshold of what qualifies as “disturbing.” Because of all of that, a harmless action is no longer a victimless “crime.” A top-10 team has been screwed out of having their coach in arguably the most important point of the season. The Tigers now have to navigate the conference tournament, and the national tournament without the guy who helped take them to those heights in the first place—though the drive to win a title might be muted by the fact that there’s a more-than-likely chance that any titles won from here on out gets stripped away. The team also might have to go through these games without Smart, a starter, as I doubt LSU will only be sitting him for Saturday’s game against Vanderbilt.<doc-sep>LSU Tigers men's basketball coach Will Wade has released a statement after the university announced he was indefinitely suspended on Friday. LSU made the decision to suspend Wade, while the school conducts an internal investigation into a Yahoo! Sports report that indicated the coach discussed potentially providing a recruit with improper benefits. Wade made his first comments on the suspension in a text message to NOLA.com. "Serving as the Head Basketball Coach at LSU has been the honor of my life," Wade said. "I love this university and all it stands for. From day one, I’ve been focused on building a winning program made up of excellent coaches and staff and a team of first-rate student athletes. "I cannot comment at this time on various media reports, except to say that they do not begin to tell the full story. I understand the University had to take action before all the facts are in, but I would ask everyone to withhold their judgment until the record is complete. “To my players and coaches, I support you 100%, and I will be with you in spirit as the season progresses. Your best response to this is to narrow your focus and make sure the last part of the season is the strongest part!” The message from Wade comes on the heels of a report from Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger, who said that the LSU coach refused to discuss the new information with LSU officials on Friday morning in the wake of the Yahoo! report. Dellenger reported that, earlier this year, Wade may have withheld information from LSU officials when discussing his connection to the FBI investigation into the facilitation of payments to prospective college basketball recruits. If true, the coach could potentially be fired with cause. "Will Wade, presumably under advice of counsel, refused to discuss the issue or disclose information with #LSU officials this morning, prompting his suspension, sources confirm," Dellenger wrote in a tweet. On Thursday, Yahoo Sports released a report that had Wade on an FBI wiretap talking about a "strong-ass offer" to a recruit's family. Yahoo speculates that the comment was in connection with LSU freshman guard and the former 247Sports Composite No. 1 overall player in Louisiana, Javonte Smart. In the report, Wade expressed frustration that a third party affiliated with the recruitment had yet to accept Wade’s “offer.” The university released a statement from LSU President and Chancellor F. King Alexander and Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva announcing the suspension of Wade. “Recent media reports regarding Coach Will Wade are without question concerning to all of us," the statement read. "As such, we and university officials have taken deliberate and purposeful steps to fairly assess and adequately address this situation. As we have done since media reports first surfaced months ago, we are closely coordinating with the NCAA with every step. They have our full cooperation and we will continue to report to them all facts and information on this matter. "All of us at LSU share the obligation to protect the integrity of this institution, as such we have suspended Head Coach Will Wade indefinitely until such time as we can ensure full compliance with the NCAA, as well as institutional policies and standards. Assistant coach Tony Benford will assume the duties of interim head coach.” LSU (25-5, 15-2 SEC) hosts Vanderbilt (9-21, 0-17) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT. A victory by the Tigers would clinch the SEC regular season title. It would be the first time in a decade LSU has accomplished that goal.<doc-sep>
LSU men's basketball coach Will Wade has been indefinitely suspended in the wake of a report that he discussed an offer for a recruit with a convicted middleman, the school announced Friday. LSU president F. King Alexander and athletics director Joe Alleva said in a joint statement that the school has suspended Wade "until such time as we can ensure full compliance with the NCAA, as well as institutional policies and standards." Assistant coach Tony Benford will serve as the interim coach in Wade's absence. "Recent media reports regarding Coach Will Wade are without question concerning to all of us," Alexander and Alleva said in the statement. Yahoo Sports reported Thursday that Wade was recorded by the FBI discussing what he called a "hell of an offer" for a recruit with middleman Christian Dawkins, who has been one of the central figures in the FBI's probe into recruiting practices in college basketball. According to the report, Wade expressed frustration during a 2017 phone conversation with Dawkins that an unnamed third party was attempting to delay a recruit's commitment because the deal was "tilted" in favor of the prospect and his family, and the unnamed third party "didn't get enough of the piece of the pie in the deal." OPINION:Will Wade story shows incentive to cheat in college coaching OPINION:LSU should skip the NCAA tournament and fire Wade WADE TALKED 'OFFER':LSU coach recorded discussing recruiting 'offer' The player Wade appeared to be referencing was Javonte Smart. The freshman guard is currently averaging 11.5 points per game for LSU. Wade released a statement to The Times-Picayune saying he couldn't comment on the report and asking for people to "withhold their judgment" on the case. "Serving as the Head Basketball Coach at LSU has been the honor of my life," the statement said. "I love this university and all it stands for. From day one, I’ve been focused on building a winning program made up of excellent coaches and staff and a team of first-rate student athletes. "I cannot comment at this time on various media reports, except to say that they do not begin to tell the full story. I understand the University had to take action before all the facts are in, but I would ask everyone to withhold their judgment until the record is complete." Dawkins was sentenced to six months in prison earlier this week as a result of the probe, which investigated attempts from agents and shoe companies to direct specific high-profile recruits to certain schools. LSU, which is ranked No. 10 in the latest USA TODAY Sports coaches' poll, is tied with Tennessee for the lead in the SEC regular-season standings with one game left in the regular season. The Tigers will host Vanderbilt on Saturday night. Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad