LSU’s Javonte Smart to miss regular-season finale after Will Wade discussed an ‘offer’ to him on wiretap

LSU freshman point guard Javonte Smart will not play in the Tigers’ regular season finale on Saturday after reports this week linked him to the ongoing probe by the feds into potential corruption in basketball recruiting. Smart will be withheld along with his coach, Will Wade, who Friday was indefinitely suspended due to the reports.

“Javonte Smart will be held from today’s game against Vanderbilt. This is done only in an abundance of caution and as a result of the lack of clarity provided regarding media reports and reported wiretaps involving head coach Will Wade,” LSU said in a statement on Saturday. “This decision does not suggest, in any way, wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing on Javonte’s part of his family. Javonte and his family have been fully cooperative and open with university officials.”

LSU says the university and NCAA are continuing to review the matter and hope to reach a resolution “as quickly as possible.”

The link to the probe surfaced Thursday after Yahoo Sports reported that FBI wiretaps caught Will Wade, a second-year coach at LSU, discussing a “strong-ass” offer with Christian Dawkins, an ex-middleman in the basketball world who was sentenced this week to prison time for his role in the scandal.

“I was thinking last night on this Smart thing,” Wade reportedly said in the conversation on wiretap with Dawkins. “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.”

Wade was also caught on wiretap confiding in Dawkins about a conversation he had with Smart’s handler about the alleged offer, and expressed concern about how it was tilted more towards taking care of others besides the handler.

“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.”

Smart is averaging 11.4 points per game for LSU on the season. LSU plays Vanderbilt in its season finale in Baton Rouge, and it can clinch at least a share of the SEC regular season title with a win.