According to text messages recently revealed, Rick Pitino had knowledge that schools were trying to pay recruit Brian Bowen back in 2015. With the help of agent Christian Dawkins, Louisville landed the recruit in 2017.
The text messages were exchanged between Pitino and an assistant coach and show he knew that DePaul was trying to pay Bowen 200k.
Via WDRB:
“DePaul trying to pay Bowen 200 K to come there,” Pitino texted then assistant coach Kenny Johnson, according to court records. “Crazy world.”
The texts and other documents relating to Pitino’s alleged direct recruitment of Bowen working with a former agent is included in court documents in lawsuits the coach and school have filed against each other in the wake of Pitino’s termination in October.
Evidence shows, according to U of L, that Pitino “was aware of red flags regarding” a former agent and Adidas executive’s involvement in Bowen’s recruitment” but he “intentionally failed to disclose those concerns to compliance staff rather than risk Bowen choosing a different school.”
Of course Pitino knew, not only what was going on at Louisville, but that other schools were paying for recruits too. It’s the worst kept secret in college sports, although some are better at covering their tracks.
