Saliou Niang, former NBA Draft pick, cleared to compete for LSU, which has given up RJ Luis Jr. eligibility fight: Reports

Reports on Tuesday provided a bit more clarity about what the first iteration of Will Wade’s Tigers will look like during his second stint as LSU head coach.

On one hand, LSU will have the services of former NBA Draft pick Saliou Niang, who, according to multiple reports, has been cleared to compete for the Tigers this season.

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On the other hand, per CBS Sports’ Matt Norlander, LSU has given up its fight for former St. John’s star RJ Luis Jr. to be eligible.

Whereas Niang was picked in the second round of the 2025 draft, Luis went undrafted last year. That said, Luis signed contracts with the Utah Jazz and the Boston Celtics. As a result, he’s now prohibited from joining an SEC member institution, according to the conference’s recently adopted policy, which notably bans basketball players, among others, who previously signed with an NBA or G League team.

So, even though a preliminary injunction in a Louisiana court reportedly paved the way for Luis to play, the SEC’s rules stood between him and the LSU roster.

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Norlander reported Tuesday that, privately, Wade had been confident that Luis, 23, would eventually be permitted to take the court for LSU, “but the SEC would not budge.”

Luis, a 6-foot-7 wing who averaged 18.2 points for St. John’s en route to earning Big East Player of the Year honors during the 2024-25 campaign, hasn’t played in an NBA regular-season game.

Neither has the 22-year-old Niang. The Cleveland Cavaliers selected him in the second round of last year’s draft with the No. 58 overall pick. Although Cleveland kept his NBA rights, Niang returned to Europe, this time to play for Italian club Virtus Bologna.

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The Senegalese-Italian forward, per Norlander, got the green light to suit up for LSU because Niang’s decision to attend LSU was made before NCAA policy was enacted that would make him ineligible.

Furthermore, as reported by Norlander, Niang’s decision was pre-enrollment, unlike Luis’.

The NCAA reportedly decided it wasn’t fair to apply its new rule retroactively, and the SEC is abiding by that NCAA ruling.

Niang posted 7.1 points per contest in 38 EuroLeague games…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/article/saliou-niang-former-nba-draft-pick-cleared-to-compete-for-lsu-which-has-given-up-rj-luis-jr-eligibility-fight-reports-194906330.html

Author : Andy Backstrom

Publish date : 2026-10-20 19:49:00

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