LSU signs French center Brice Dessert, former Victor Wembanyama teammate and opponent in international play

5 days ago 2

LSU head coach Will Wade continues to build his 2026-27 roster with international players. With the Tigers’ latest signee, the hope may be that some of Victor Wembanyama’s talent and drive rubbed off him as he’s a former teammate and opponent of the San Antonio Spurs’ superstar.

Brice Dessert, 23, has reportedly agreed to play for Wade at LSU, according to On3’s Shea Dixon. The 6-foot-11 center averaged 8.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 games last season with Anadolu Efes of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi.

Dessert and Wembanyama were teammates on several French national teams, including the France U-16 team that played for the European championship in Italy and U-19 squad that participated in the 2021 FIBA World Cup in Latvia.

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The two also faced each other in professional play while Wembanyama played for Metropolitans 92 and Dessert was with Blois in LNB Pro A during the 2022-23 season.

Metropolitans 92 finished second at 23-11 with Wembanyama averaging 21.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. Blois was last at 14-20 as Dessert averaged 4.6 points and 2.4 boards.

Dessert also reportedly drew interest from Kansas, Auburn, North Carolina, Arizona and Texas Tech before agreeing to play for Wade in Baton Rouge.

In his return to LSU, Wade is taking an unconventional path to building a roster to compete in the SEC, recruiting players who have played professionally overseas, including Dessert, Márcio Santos and Saliou Niang.

Additionally, perhaps to even more controversy, Wade has courted players who are challenging NCAA eligibility rules. For instance, former St. John’s star and 2025 Big East Player of the Year R.J. Luis, who has remaining college eligibility but played in the NBA’s G League.

That approach has drawn criticism from rival coaches like Florida’s Todd Golden.

“That's not what college athletics is supposed to be,” Golden said to The Field of 68. “This is not what college basketball is supposed to be about."

LSU has also added players conventionally through the transfer portal in a roster overhaul, including Kansas State transfer Abdi Bashir Jr., Michigan State transfer Divine Ugochukwu and Mouhamed Dioubate from Kentucky.

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