North Carolina, YES, North Carolina benefitting from FBI/College Basketball Scandal

[Franisdaman]

Unbelievable, to say the least.

First, North Carolina landed a commitment from 5 star forward Nassir Little, who was high on Arizona's and Miami's wish lists. However, after Miami and Arizona were linked to the FBI scandal, Little committed on October 4, 2017 to UNC.

The director of Nassir Little's AAU team is currently in jail, and there's a decent chance Little is among those named in the FBI/DOJ complaint.

And now this, from AZcentral.com:

Arizona has suffered another recruiting blow in the wake of the arrest of assistant coach Book Richardson last week.

Five-star forward Simi Shittu canceled a scheduled Nov. 3 visit to Arizona while he is still expected to visit Vanderbilt this weekend and North Carolina on Nov. 10.

This was his original plan:

• Vanderbilt, Oct. 6
• Arizona, Nov. 3
• North Carolina, Nov. 10

Shittu's decision appears to make North Carolina the leader but it is also possible that many top 2018 recruits won't sign a binding letter-of-intent until next spring, when more could be revealed out of the FBI investigation.

Last week, the top-rated player in the class of 2018, R.J. Barrett, dropped Arizona from his list of finalists. He is now down to Duke, Kentucky, and Oregon.

 

[Franisdaman]

Regarding Miami and Arizona:

In court documents, Miami reasonably appears to be so-called "University-7" with specific connections to an unidentified coach "Coach-3" and recruit "Player-12."

There are accusations from the FBI that Jim Gatto, a prominent Adidas employee, was working with an assistant coach from University-7 in an effort to move $150,000 to the family of a high-profile 2018 prospect.

The coup was to land Player-12 in an effort to get said player to sign down the road with Adidas and align financial interests with Christian Dawkins, a former NBA agent. Dawkins has been charged in the case.

The FBI alleges payments were in the works to funnel money through the AAU team of Jonathan Brad Augustine, who was in charge of 1Family, a grassroots basketball organization. Proof of these conversations were captured via wiretapping, as the FBI was using undercover agents to expose bribery and fraud with multiple basketball coaches and outside parties.

There is one call recorded, from mid-August, that includes a conversation between Gatto and Merl Code, an Adidas employee who recently left Nike. The two discuss a negotiation price of $150,000 for Player-12. Code is caught saying "If [University-4]'s willing to pay" a $150,000 price "then that's where the kid is going to go."

University-4 is widely understood to be the University of Arizona. Wildcats assistant Emanuel Richardson is one of the 10 men who have been charged in the case. A prominent recruit in the class of 2018 who has officially listed Miami and Arizona among his finalists: Nassir Little. Little also played for 1Family, Augustine's grassroots basketball team.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...asketball-program-is-under-fbi-investigation/

 

[hawk-i bob]

Regarding Miami and Arizona:

In court documents, Miami reasonably appears to be so-called "University-7" with specific connections to an unidentified coach "Coach-3" and recruit "Player-12."

There are accusations from the FBI that Jim Gatto, a prominent Adidas employee, was working with an assistant coach from University-7 in an effort to move $150,000 to the family of a high-profile 2018 prospect.

The coup was to land Player-12 in an effort to get said player to sign down the road with Adidas and align financial interests with Christian Dawkins, a former NBA agent. Dawkins has been charged in the case.

The FBI alleges payments were in the works to funnel money through the AAU team of Jonathan Brad Augustine, who was in charge of 1Family, a grassroots basketball organization. Proof of these conversations were captured via wiretapping, as the FBI was using undercover agents to expose bribery and fraud with multiple basketball coaches and outside parties.

There is one call recorded, from mid-August, that includes a conversation between Gatto and Merl Code, an Adidas employee who recently left Nike. The two discuss a negotiation price of $150,000 for Player-12. Code is caught saying "If [University-4]'s willing to pay" a $150,000 price "then that's where the kid is going to go."

University-4 is widely understood to be the University of Arizona. Wildcats assistant Emanuel Richardson is one of the 10 men who have been charged in the case. A prominent recruit in the class of 2018 who has officially listed Miami and Arizona among his finalists: Nassir Little. Little also played for 1Family, Augustine's grassroots basketball team.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-b...asketball-program-is-under-fbi-investigation/

and I'll bet Jim Larranaga "Didn't Know A Thing"...

its amazing how these intelligient higher education Head basketball coaches dont know whats going on in their program.

I didnt know......

 

[Franisdaman]

and I'll bet Jim Larranaga "Didn't Know A Thing"...

its amazing how these intelligient higher education Head basketball coaches dont know whats going on in their program.

I didnt know......

I can't wait to see if these head coaches were smart enough to not get caught by the FBI.... so far so good for them. However, if the FBI gets the 10 to talk....

 

[ScoutRefugee]

He won't be eligible to play. If UNC-CHeat does let him play, they'll forfeit every game he plays in.

 

[Franisdaman]

i still can't believe the Adidas reps were funneling these large sums of money

how the hell did that work? fake Purchase orders/invoices? Who authorized the PO's and invoices and who signed the checks? And there must have been a budget for it because at month end they would have been hundreds of thousands over budget. You would also think there would be more indictments of Adidas employees (those who signed the checks, those who authorized payment, etc)

 

[HawkNole09]

I'm wearing New Balance until this whole thing gets sorted out.