Will Wade has kept contact with his team even while his position as LSU’s head coach remains in limbo during his University-imposed suspension.
LSU President F. King Alexander and Director of Athletics Joe Alleva suspended Wade on March 8 for refusing to meet with LSU’s administration and a NCAA representative on advice of his lawyer following a Yahoo! Sports report. The report detailed an alleged conversation between him and convicted basketball business liaison Christian Dawkins about a recruit, who was believed to be Javonte Smart. Smart has been cleared by the school to play in the NCAA tournament following an investigation by LSU.
Immediately after his suspension, Wade asked for judgement to be withheld until all the facts came to light, and he has further professed his desire to be reinstated as LSU’s basketball coach.
Since his suspension Wade has texted back-and-forth with a few of the players and has had phone calls with interim coach Tony Benford.
“I talked to [Wade] briefly after the [selection] show ended,” said Benford in a press conference on Sunday. “He’s very familiar with them, obviously being in the Ivy League at Harvard.
“He’s very familiar with coach Jones and the way they play and the style of play. He just said that they’re well coached and they play pretty fast and it will be a good matchup for us.”
Junior guard Skylar Mays also said that he and Wade exchanged texts back and forth. 
“He’s just saying kind words, but not really talking about the situation,” Mays said on March 12. “He’s just so happy for this team and what we’ve been able to accomplish. He’s been a huge part of that.”
There is nothing in Wade’s contract explicitly prohibiting contact with coaches and players during his suspension. The only stipulation is the school will withhold all pay outside of his base salary, but he can be paid back pay if he is cleared of wrongdoing.
LSU refused to comment on Wade remaining in contact with the players and coaches during his suspension when contacted by The Reveille.