DESTIN —LSU basketball coach Will Wade admitted a mistake Tuesday.Not for saying on an FBI wiretap that he wanted to make then-four-star recruit Javonte Smart a “ strong-(expletive) offer .” Not for allegedly discussing paying prospects, if not actually doing so. Not for having his name and program brought into focus for months as part of the pay-for-play recruiting scandal that has shrouded college basketball.No, in his first public comments since his suspension (and subsequent reinstatement), Wade said he erred in declining to meet with the Tigers’ administration about Smart’s recruitment in March, after some of the allegations began ramping up.“I think I made a poor decision on how I handled that,” Wade said during the SEC’s spring meetings at the Hilton Sandestin . “If I could go back and do it again, I would have taken the meeting and been a little more forceful in getting that meeting… I think that was a mistake I made and something I did in haste as I was trying to make a quick decision.” MORE SEC SPRING MEETINGS: Kirby Smart doesn’t rule out Florida-Georgia series moving from Jacksonville That quick decision turned into a suspension that stretched more than a month before his eventual reinstatement in April. But what about the issues that prompted that meeting? What about the allegations that he violated NCAA rules by paying a player, or at least discussing doing so in colorful language?“It’s a good question,” Wade said. “I can’t get into the specifics of everything.”Wade ducked behind the confidentiality of his meetings with LSU and the NCAA on more questions about that robust offer. What was the offer? Was he quoted accurately? Was that his voice on the FBI wiretap?Wade also wouldn’t directly answer the biggest question surrounding him, his past and his future: Did he or any member of his staff ever pay a player or a player’s representatives?“I can’t get into the meeting because of the confidentiality in there,” Wade said, “but I can assure you everything you can think of was addressed in that meeting with LSU and the NCAA, and that ultimately led to my reinstatement.”Wade directly addressed only one of the allegations that has come out about his conduct and his program. He denied a claim from former Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson that Wade had a $300,000 deal to land five-star forward Naz Reid.Gators basketball coach Mike White said guard Andrew Nembhard had a pro workout Tuesday as he continues to weigh his future. Nembhard — whose 196 assists last season as a freshman ranked fourth in UF history — has tested the NBA draft waters and must decide whether he wants to return to school or go pro by Wednesday.“As I introduce myself to him, I may try to get his autograph.” —White on the addition of former NBA star Jerry Stackhouse to the SEC as Vanderbilt’s new coach
![Matt Baker - Colleges and Recruiting Reporter](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 50 50"/%3E "Matt Baker - Colleges and Recruiting Reporter")