Louisville: Player tied to Pitino firing will not play for Cardinals
Nov 22, 2017 - 9:33 PM Louisville announced Wednesday that freshman Brian Bowen, tied to the Rick Pitino firing and one of the players at the center of the FBI probe into corruption in college basketball, will never play for the Cardinals.Bowen, a former McDonald's All-American, will be provided written permission by Louisville to transfer to another school if he chooses. He will remain on scholarship as long as he is at Louisville but can't practice with the team, according to the university.
"Brian has been a responsible young man for the institution since he enrolled," Louisville interim athletic director Vince Tyra said. "He has endeared himself to his teammates and the men's basketball staff with a positive attitude during a very difficult period."
Bowen was suspended indefinitely in late September after an FBI investigation into corruption and bribery in college basketball recruiting. Federal documents allege that Adidas funneled $100,000 to the family of an unnamed player, later identified as Bowen, to sign with Louisville at the request of a Cardinals coach. The unnamed elite recruit committed to Louisville on June 3, the same date Bowen made his announcement that he had chosen the Cardinals.
Bowen, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Saginaw, Mich., was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. He averaged 20.4 points and seven rebounds last season at La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind.
Pitino was officially fired as head coach at Louisville on Oct. 16 in the wake of the FBI investigation. Pitino has insisted he was not involved in the scandal.
Jason Setchen, Bowen's lawyer, said Bowen found out about Louisville's decision through Twitter, according to ESPN. The lawyer said Bowen still wants to play college basketball as opposed to going overseas or playing in the G League, the NBA's development league.
"Brian's done nothing wrong," Setchen said. "We've gone above and beyond in an effort to provide the university and the NCAA with unfettered access to evidence in support of our position -- which is that he had no knowledge or involvement in any purported scheme.
"Our expectation was ultimately that he would be reinstated and be able to play and treated fairly. I don't believe he was treated fairly by Louisville, but my conversations with the NCAA give me every reason to believe he will be afforded due process and ultimately given his dream to play college basketball."
No one has shouted yet.
Be the first!
Be the first!
Related News
- College basketball rankings: Kansas a solid No. 1 with return of Hunter Dickinson, addition of Rylan Griffen 6:09p
- Michigan State point guard A.J. Hoggard enters transfer portal 5:42p
- Kentucky 2024-25 roster: Lamont Butler, star of San Diego State's Final Four run, transfers to Wildcats 4:38p
- Hunter Dickinson is returning to Kansas, and the Jayhawks are loaded 3:42p
- Hunter Dickinson returning to Kansas: Why the All-American big man is the latest offseason win for Bill Self 3:31p
- Kentucky 2024-25 roster: Who's in, out for Mark Pope's first season as coach of Wildcats 12:54p
- Arkansas 2024-25 roster: Four-star recruit Billy Richmond, a former Kentucky signee, commits to John Calipari 12:44p
- College basketball transfer portal 2024: Ranking top 80 players as Norchad Omier, Kadary Richmond enter top 5 11:03a
- Kentucky basketball under Mark Pope: Transfer portal news, 2024 roster, recruits, top targets from SEC experts 9:57a
- Arkansas basketball under John Calipari: Transfer portal news, 2024 roster, recruits, targets from SEC experts 9:48a
- Bellevue West grad, former Wisconsin guard Chucky Hepburn transfers to Louisville Thu
- Missouri Valley Conference women's basketball tournament to leave Moline, return in 2027 Thu