‘No active investigation’ of LSU men’s basketball, school confirms with NCAA

(TNS) —LSU released a statement Monday afternoon saying that the school “has confirmed with NCAA officials that there is no active investigation into the men’s basketball program.”

The statement is in response to a Yahoo! Sports story published Sunday night saying the NCAA enforcement staff has been looking into coach Will Wade’s recruiting tactics for the past six months, dating back to his time at Virginia Commonwealth.

VCU, where Wade spent two seasons before leaving for LSU, said Monday that it has found nothing problematic in its records. The statement was issued by VCU vice president and director of athletics Ed McLaughlin, The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported.

The Yahoo! report also said:

—NCAA enforcement officials have done work on the phone and in person, including traveling around the country, to learn more about his recruiting.

—The probe, which began not long after he was hired away from VCU, has stalled because of a lack of on-the-record specifics about Wade’s recruiting, a source said.

—The NCAA’s information gathering has covered part of Wade’s two-year tenure as head coach at VCU, a source said.

—Sources also indicated the NCAA’s interest appears to be in its exploratory and information-gathering stages.

“After talking to my staff, we have had no contact from the NCAA regarding any irregularities,” LSU athletic director Joe Alleva told Yahoo Sports on Sunday.

In a text to The Advocate on Sunday night, Wade said he couldn’t comment on the report.

The NCAA’s interest could have been sparked by the success Wade had in signing players after getting a late start in recruiting at LSU last spring and the fact his 2018 class is ranked third nationally by Rivals.com.

It includes four of the top 60 players in the nation from Louisiana, New Jersey and Florida.

Before being lured away by LSU, Wade coached at VCU for two seasons. He made the NCAA tournament both seasons and won 51 games.