NCAA Basketball Scandal

Here are the 5 biggest questions relating to feds’ ongoing hoops scandal cases

There have been several major developments in the case since the flurry of arrests on Sept. 26. In a vacuum, they’d all be huge stories. In the past few months, schools like North Carolina State, Maryland and Kansas have been subpoenaed by the federal government. In April, a superseding indictment detailed how people affiliated with Adidas helped arrange money to help Kansas recruit two top prospects. (The Billy Preston deal, documents allege, was for $90,000 and included cloak-and-dagger cash drops in hotel rooms.) An alleged $40,000 payment to keep Dennis Smith Jr. committed to N.C. State included an Adidas executive using “sham invoices.” Former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola also pled guilty to a felony and is cooperating with the government.

Officials inside and outside the case told Yahoo Sports the collateral damage to coaches and programs through potential NCAA violations that could be revealed may end up as the most newsworthy elements of the trial. Still looming over the case are 330 days of federal monitoring that could come out in the three trials, which includes 4,000 intercepted calls, countless text messages and thousands of documents and bank records. Multiple sources indicated that programs previously not connected to the case are likely to be implicated via potential NCAA violations.

“Over the course of these three trials, you’re going to see major programs get touched by this, and the nature of how business is done is going to be exposed,” said a source with knowledge of the investigation. “The question is, ‘How many?’ The coaches who are mixed up in this are used to controlling everything, and they’ll have no control in how all this comes out.”

https://twitter.com/danwetzel/status/1047165520523546624
https://twitter.com/danwetzel/status/1047179538059448321

The Bowen deal didn’t work out because the FBI stepped in. Code and Dawkins wound up arrested. Pitino wound up fired. Bowen is a pro, but not in the NBA, so no one is getting their money back off of that.

This was just one example of many though. And this was just one day of what is supposed to last a month. Nike does it. Under Armour does it. Virtually every agent and financial planner with NBA clients does it. You can’t have a top player without this swirling around. Dawkins and Code spoke of players like commodities to be bought, traded, sold and controlled.

Instead, what Gatto is going to do is acknowledge he’s guilty of committing major NCAA rules violations. Did the former Adidas executive agree to send $100,000 to five-star prospect Brian Bowen’s family in exchange for him enrolling at Louisville, which is a so-called Adidas school? Yes, Gatto says. Did he pay $40,000 to the family of Dennis Smith while the one-and-done star was at NC State, which is another Adidas school? Yes, Gatto says. Did he provide $20,000 to Silvio De Sousa, who is now enrolled at Kansas, which is another Adidas school? Yes, Gatto says.

“Jim Gatto broke NCAA rules,” Donnelly said. “NCAA rules are not laws.”

I think Duke is one school that was probably guilty. They just can’t even get 2nd or 3rd tier recruits anymore for the 2019 class. I know Capel left but still the drop off is dramatic and telling.

Just three days into the trial, here’s what we’ve heard: Six figures for Brian Bowen to attend Louisville. A bidding war up to $150,000 for recruit Nassir Little and competing $20,000 sneaker company payments to Silvio De Sousa. A $40,000 payment to Dennis Smith. Another $90,000 for Billy Preston. A $30,000 kickback to the personal trainer of Markelle Fultz. An “astronomical” bid by Oregon for Bowen. A multi-layered compensation package for Collin Sexton and his family.

https://twitter.com/jeffborzello/status/1047947300180557824

1 Like

Jarrett Allen is rolling in his grave lol

2 Likes

Either UT is going really cheap on their basketball or that was going to be one heck of a house.

2 Likes

I think it is just a plain ole lie !!!

1 Like

I’m assuming that meant that UT was willing to pay for his father to have a house/apartment somewhere in Austin. Did read strange and I had to read that about 4-5 times earlier to get the gist of what that meant.

@EECOOG69, I’m kind of wonderingly how much of it is accurate myself. One comment I saw was that Addidas must be really crappy at their job since they were trying to pay for a kid that didn’t even go to a high school or join an AAU team that was promoted by Addidas…or this is BS. These guys are trying to save their bacon and they are trying to throw the NCAA under the bus. Until there’s actual evidence coming in (voices on tapes, signed documents, etc), I’m not sure what to believe.

Does stuff like this go on…yep. Is it as widespread as some are making it out to be? That’s questionable.

I can’t wait for the 30 for 30 in the future about this scandal. I think it’s similar to the old SWC football recruiting. I think the shoe companies were involved, trainers, AAU coaches, HS coaches, guardians & parents were all involved with colleges and prominent asst. and college head coaches. Benefits varied from Housing, jobs, sponsorships to straight out money :moneybag: to name a few of the infractions involved.

1 Like

How Sausage is Made

https://sports.yahoo.com/brian-bowen-sr-details-payments-schools-aau-programs-college-hoops-seedy-underbelly-exposed-225250219.html

1 Like

Tom Penders going in on Pete Thamel for being an agent shill. Article below Tom’s comments:

https://twitter.com/TomPenders/status/1100251244290076672
https://twitter.com/TomPenders/status/1100245904186138624

Both coaches have long been known to be on federal wiretaps talking to Christian Dawkins, the former low-level agent runner who was found guilty of multiple felony fraud charges in the first basketball corruption trail in October. The impending subpoenas also increase the likelihood that those tapes would be played at trial, as defense attorneys are likely to want to walk the jury through the realities of recruiting in college basketball’s underworld.

https://twitter.com/MichaelAvenatti/status/1110213957170749440

Couldn’t be a more reliable source unless it was Jussie Smollett.

2 Likes

https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1110226299312898051

1 Like

image http://www.tumblr.com/

1 Like