5-star LSU basketball signee released from letter of intent, decommits

The Tigers have now seen two signees back off their pledge since firing Will Wade.

LSU has lost yet another 2022 signee in the wake of coach Will Wade’s firing.

On Saturday, five-star Branson (Missouri) Link Academy prospect Julian Phillips announced that he had been released from his letter of intent by the NCAA and would be decommitting from the program. The 6-foot-8-inch, 200-pound power forward is listed as the No. 12 player in his recruiting class.

“Due to the recent changes within the staff, I have been granted my release from the university and will be re-opening my recruitment,” Phillips said in a post on Twitter. “I look forward to the journey of finding a new home.”

Phillips is the second recruit LSU has lost from its 2022 class since the news came down last Saturday that Wade would be dismissed. That decision came shortly after the program received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA that charged Wade with several Level I violations.

Four-star forward Devin Ree, who had also signed his letter of intent, decommitted from the team earlier this week. That leaves the Tigers with just one player currently committed in the 2022 class: five-star center Yohan Traore.

Traore gave LSU his pledge on Jan. 30, and he’s sticking to it as of now. However, he could still look to join Ree and Phillips in the coming days. As things currently stand, the Tigers have the No. 66 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports.

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