Five-star recruit Anfernee Simons has changed his mind about attending Louisville
Louisville has lost a pair of recruits and Auburn had one decommit as well the day after the Justice Department and the FBI announced 10 arrests connected to an ongoing investigation into corruption in college basketball.
High school seniors and five-star recruits Anfernee Simons and Courtney Ramey both decommitted to Louisville on Wednesday. Another five-star recruit, E.J. Montgomery decommitted from Auburn, his father told Scout.com.
Neither school was named in court documents, but Louisville has acknowledged that the university was a part of the FBI investigation, and on Wednesday Cardinals basketball coach Rick Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative lead. He is expected to be fired, according to multiple reports.
On Tuesday Auburn suspended assistant coach Chuck Person indefinitely after he was arrested and accused of accepting a total of $91,500 in the case, the complaint says.
Simons announced his decision on Twitter.
‘Due to the recent events that have taken place, my family and I have decided it’s in my best interest to de-commit from the University of Louisville,’ Simons wrote. ‘I will be reopening my recruitment. This was a very tough decision to make and I am deeply sadden by this. I appreciate all of the support from Louisville fans.’
Five-star recruit Courtney Ramey previously committed to Louisville only to decommit on Wednesday, after coach Rick Pitino was placed on administrative leave
Five-star recruit E.J. Montgomery committed to Auburn early only to change his mind on Wednesday after the school was implicated in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball
Interestingly, Simons still had a 2016 tweet pinned atop his profile in which he committed to Louisville.
Ramey’s father spoke to Scout.com.
‘We are going to reopen it,’ Ramey Sr. told the website. ‘We aren’t excited about it, but it’s something we have to do.
‘It’s a grinding process and I want my son to enjoy his senior season without the pressure,’ he continued. ‘We were all set to go to Louisville and play for coach [Pitino] and play in the ACC. We thought it was a perfect fit, but due to the circumstances we are going to open it.’
Simmons was the eighth-best prospect in the country, according to ESPN, which rated Ramey 49th and the top player in Missouri.
Montgomery’s father also spoke with Scout.com.
‘We are going to open EJ’s recruitment back up,’ Montgomery Sr. said of his son, who was an early commitment for Auburn. ‘He hasn’t really gone through the process of being recruited and he wants to experience that.’
On Wednesday, Louisville interim president Greg Postel announced that one current Cardinals player would be suspended indefinitely. Postel didn’t mention any name, but it’s believed that the player is freshman Brian Bowen, another five-star recruit, who may have received a large bribe to attend Louisville.
In a message posted on Twitter, Simons decommitted from Louisville on Wednesday
The FBI and Justice Department named Adidas global sports marketing director Jim Gatto as one of 10 defendants on Tuesday. And according to the allegations, he conspired with coaches to pay recruits to play at Adidas-sponsored schools. Gatto and four others were charged with ‘making and concealing bribe payments’ to students and their families.
Adidas was not named specifically in the filing, but was instead referred to as ‘Company-1.’
Gatto and his fellow defendants are accused of funneling $100,000 to the family of a recruit in order to persuade that player to attend a school in Kentucky. That school was not named, but Louisville did sign a $160 million deal with Adidas in August.
No player is named in the court documents. However, according to multiple reports, it was Bowen, an All-American from Indiana who chose Louisville over other national powerhouse programs such as Michigan State, Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino placed on unpaid leave after Cardinals program turns up in FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball
On Wednesday Louisville announced that basketball coach Rick Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave after the program was linked to a federal corruption investigation
Louisville head basketball coach Rick Pitino has effectively been fired after the college program was linked to a federal fraud and corruption investigation.
Pitino was told he had been let go during a meeting on Wednesday morning with Louisville interim president Greg Postel, according to multiple reports. However, at Wednesday’s press conference, Postel said Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave. Athletic director Tom Jurich was placed on paid administrative leave as well, explained Postel.
Pitino and Jurich’s fate will be determined by the board of trustees no later than their next meeting, which Postel said is on October 18.
‘Doing nothing would be a tacit admission of criminal behavior,’ Postel said.
Pitino – one of the highest paid basketball coaches in the world with an annual salary of $7.7 million – had not been linked directly to the FBI investigation. However, some of the most explosive allegations in the court documents appear to involve Louisville, which was already on NCAA probation over a sex scandal.
In fact, Pitino had already been suspended for the first five games of the season after it was revealed that strippers were provided to basketball recruits by basketball operations director Andre McGee. Louisville is appealing the decision, but the school may ultimately be forced to vacate dozens of wins and the team’s 2013 national championship if the NCAA’s ruling is not overturned.
University of Louisville interim President Greg Postel (right) announced Wednesday that coach Rick Pitino was placed on unpaid administrative leave
Louisville hopes to name an interim coach and athletic director within 48 hours, Postel said. The status of the remaining coaching staff will be made by the interim coach.
Pitino’s dismissal comes after he said on Tuesday he was shocked by corruption allegations made by federal prosecutors in New York against some college basketball assistant coaches.
A top Adidas executive and four assistant coaches are among 10 men charged with using hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to influence star athletes’ choice of, shoe sponsors, agents and schools – one of which was allegedly Louisville.
Pitino, who reportedly expects to be fired, will have his fate determined before October 18, according to interim president Postel
Pitino said he agreed with prosecutors that third-party schemes initiated by a few bad actors ‘operated to commit a fraud’ on universities and their basketball programs. He said fans and supporters deserve better.
The Louisville program has already lost a pair of top recruits to the scandal. Anfernee Simons, a 6-3, 165-pound guard from Bradenton, Fla., announced Wednesday that he has rescinded his commitment to Louisville. Shortly thereafter, St. Louis-area guard Courtney Ramey changed his mind about the Cardinals, his father told Scout.com.
The FBI and Justice Department named Adidas global sports marketing director Jim Gatto as one of 10 defendants on Tuesday. And according to the allegations, he conspired with coaches to pay recruits to play at Adidas-sponsored schools. Gatto and four others were charged with ‘making and concealing bribe payments’ to students and their families.
Adidas was not named specifically in the filing, but was instead referred to as ‘Company-1.’
Gatto and his fellow defendants are accused of funneling $100,000 to the family of a recruit in order to persuade that player to attend a school in Kentucky. That school was not named, but Louisville did sign a $160 million deal with Adidas in August.
No player is named in the court documents. However, according to multiple reports, that recruit may have been five-star prospect Brian Bowen, an All-American from Indiana who chose Louisville over other national powerhouse programs such as Michigan State, Arizona, UCLA, and Oregon.
Postel said that one player has been suspended indefinitely, and although he didn’t mention Bowen by name, the school’s interim president is believed to have been referring to the freshman forward.
Brian Bowen (left after committing to Louisville and right playing at La Lumiere School in Indiana) is reportedly the recruit whose family received a $100,000 bribe
Louisville Athletic director Tom Jurich (right) was also let go by the university after he refused to personally fire Pitino (left). They are both pictured above in November 2014
One of the two schemes involved managers and advisors bribing college coaches, who persuaded top recruits and their families to sign with those managers and advisors
Another scheme involved an Adidas rep, James Gatto, and his associates funneling cash to top recruits in order to push them towards colleges that had sponsorship deals with Adidas