Call records link Arizona's Sean Miller, Creighton's Greg McDermott to Brian Bowen II's handler
During Brian Bowen II's recruitment in the late spring of 2017, his handler, Christian Dawkins, made dozens of telephone calls to various assistant college basketball coaches courting the player -- one of the last available five-star prospects.
In the final weeks before Bowen II's father agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to ensure that his son signed with the University of Louisville, Dawkins also made and received calls with phone numbers associated with at least two Division I head coaches -- Arizona's Sean Miller and Creighton's Greg McDermott.
An Outside the Lines analysis of Dawkins' cellphone records from May 3, 2017, to July 2, 2017, shows there were at least 13 phone calls involving a cell number belonging to Miller and at least nine calls with McDermott's phone number. All but three of those calls were placed between May 8, 2017, and June 1, 2017, when Bowen II committed to the Cardinals.
The records show that each of the calls Dawkins made to or received from the number associated with Miller lasted at least five minutes; there were five calls longer than 10 minutes with McDermott's number. There were also several calls and voicemails that lasted one minute that weren't included in the aforementioned totals.
Dawkins, a former runner for an NBA agent, was one of three men convicted on Wednesday by a jury in New York on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud related to pay-for-play schemes to send high-profile recruits to Adidas-sponsored schools.
ESPN reported in February that Dawkins and Miller had discussions about a $100,000 payment that ensured that star center Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, signed with the Wildcats from the class of 2017.
According to Brian Bowen Sr., Dawkins told him that Arizona assistant coach Joe Pasternack offered $50,000; Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans offered $150,000 cash, $80,000 for a car and additional money to buy a house; Texas assistant coach Mike Morrell offered to "help me with housing"; and Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy offered $100,000 and a "good job, a lucrative job."
Pasternack and Morrell are now the head coaches at UC Santa Barbara and UNC Asheville.
Dawkins' phone records also show repeated calls to and from a cell number belonging to Murphy, who also grew up in Saginaw. According to the records, Dawkins had 59 calls with Murphy's cell number between May 4, 2017, and July 3, 2017, including 32 before Bowen II committed to Louisville.
The nine calls involving Creighton's McDermott's number started on May 8, 2017, and ended on June 22, 2017. There was a 28-minute call on May 8, a 29-minute call on May 20 and a 16-minute call on May 24, according to the records.
Of the nearly 3,000 telephone calls that were either made or received by Dawkins' cellphone during the two-month period, the most frequent number belongs to former Creighton star Justin Patton, a 7-foot center who played one season for the Bluejays before turning pro in 2017. He is a second-year player with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LINK to full story: http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/...ton-greg-mcdermott-brian-bowen-ii-recruitment
During Brian Bowen II's recruitment in the late spring of 2017, his handler, Christian Dawkins, made dozens of telephone calls to various assistant college basketball coaches courting the player -- one of the last available five-star prospects.
In the final weeks before Bowen II's father agreed to accept $100,000 from Adidas to ensure that his son signed with the University of Louisville, Dawkins also made and received calls with phone numbers associated with at least two Division I head coaches -- Arizona's Sean Miller and Creighton's Greg McDermott.
An Outside the Lines analysis of Dawkins' cellphone records from May 3, 2017, to July 2, 2017, shows there were at least 13 phone calls involving a cell number belonging to Miller and at least nine calls with McDermott's phone number. All but three of those calls were placed between May 8, 2017, and June 1, 2017, when Bowen II committed to the Cardinals.
The records show that each of the calls Dawkins made to or received from the number associated with Miller lasted at least five minutes; there were five calls longer than 10 minutes with McDermott's number. There were also several calls and voicemails that lasted one minute that weren't included in the aforementioned totals.
Dawkins, a former runner for an NBA agent, was one of three men convicted on Wednesday by a jury in New York on federal charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud related to pay-for-play schemes to send high-profile recruits to Adidas-sponsored schools.
ESPN reported in February that Dawkins and Miller had discussions about a $100,000 payment that ensured that star center Deandre Ayton, the No. 1 pick in June's NBA draft, signed with the Wildcats from the class of 2017.
According to Brian Bowen Sr., Dawkins told him that Arizona assistant coach Joe Pasternack offered $50,000; Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans offered $150,000 cash, $80,000 for a car and additional money to buy a house; Texas assistant coach Mike Morrell offered to "help me with housing"; and Creighton assistant coach Preston Murphy offered $100,000 and a "good job, a lucrative job."
Pasternack and Morrell are now the head coaches at UC Santa Barbara and UNC Asheville.
Dawkins' phone records also show repeated calls to and from a cell number belonging to Murphy, who also grew up in Saginaw. According to the records, Dawkins had 59 calls with Murphy's cell number between May 4, 2017, and July 3, 2017, including 32 before Bowen II committed to Louisville.
The nine calls involving Creighton's McDermott's number started on May 8, 2017, and ended on June 22, 2017. There was a 28-minute call on May 8, a 29-minute call on May 20 and a 16-minute call on May 24, according to the records.
Of the nearly 3,000 telephone calls that were either made or received by Dawkins' cellphone during the two-month period, the most frequent number belongs to former Creighton star Justin Patton, a 7-foot center who played one season for the Bluejays before turning pro in 2017. He is a second-year player with the Minnesota Timberwolves.
LINK to full story: http://www.espn.com/espn/otl/story/...ton-greg-mcdermott-brian-bowen-ii-recruitment
