LSU, Will Wade telephone tapping is dark turn in federal college basketball probe

BATON ROUGE — At this rate, LSU could be the first team in college basketball history stripped of a conference title before it actually wins it.

On the afternoon after a truly magnificent victory Wednesday by second-year wunderkind basketball coach Will Wade's LSU team at Florida ... the Yahoo Sports and the FBI's hammer fell again on LSU.

Hard.

And this time, it's really bad for Wade and for LSU. Period.

It involves Wade in a FBI-taped conversation in June of 2017 talking to agent runner Christian Dawkins about money for then-Scotlandville High star player Javonte Smart, who scored 15 points in the No. 10 Tigers' thrilling, 79-78 overtime win at Florida Wednesday night.

"Dude, I went to him with a (expletive deleted) strong offer about a month ago," Wade said in a phone conversation in June of 2017 with Dawkins, according to the FBI in a Yahoo Sports story published on Thursday afternoon.

Read more: https://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/sports/college/lsu/2019/03/07/latest-lsu-turn-federal-probe-college-basketball-darkest-yet/3095326002/