This one is a different discussion than the Euroleague players. Then NCAA bylaws allow (with conditions) players who have played in pro leagues to play college basketball....if they have not previously enrolled in college. That is why you've seen Euros and G-League players be deemed eligible over the last few years.

Luis is different. He's already played college basketball and is looking to return. Similar to what Charles Beadiko tried to do last season, and was ultimately rejected. From Wade's perspective you do what you can as allowed to build the best roster you can. However, the blowback is Wade knows he is ineligible per NCAA rules but is going to fight it anyway. To some degree I get the anger. But I also think a lot of it is very hypocritical.

3 years ago McMahon signed Jalen Cook. His effort to return to LSU, which was his second transfer in his career was, at the, time not allowed, thus making him ineligible at the time of the signing. McMahon knew that. As did the many other college coaches who signed multi-time transfers that offseason. But they did so knowing the NCAA rule prohibiting such players being immediately was going to be challenged. It was. Ultimately, Cook, and many others, were ruled eligible at midseason.

Here Wade/LSU is going to challenge the rule. It is likely that challenge will fail. It's also likely the NCAA is going to try to change its bylaws ahead of next season to curtail a lot of the pro to college, or in this instance ,college to pro back to college, movement. Wade knows that. So he is trying to build THIS roster using the favorable loopholes that will likely soon be closed by the NCAA. It's not a long-term strategy. It's a one-year strategy that most of CBB hasn't embraced. Maybe it fails spectacularly. Who knows? But the history of college sports is full of instances where pushing the boundaries led to success.

There was once a time JUCO guys and others with questionable grades could not play. One guy that embraced challenging the limits of the rules was Jerry Tarkainian (another was Dale Brown). He's in the HOF and I bet the fans of UNLV would LOVE to go back to the 80's-90's when they were fans of one of the most dominant programs in the country.