Recruit dad on pay to play
The father of a top college basketball recruit shed a tear for ruining his son’s college career before unleashing an astonishing list of schools that had offered money to win his kid’s commitment.
Brian Bowen Sr. testified Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court in the trial of an Adidas executive, a consultant and aspiring sports agent charged with planning to pay him $100,000 to ensure his son, Brian (Tugs) Bowen Jr., played for University of Louisville.
Bowen, after taking a break to collect himself, said that the secret offers from universities were made to him by Christian Dawkins, the aspiring sports agent.
The laundry list of alleged offers will likely send shockwaves through the NCAA, which is facing criticism for the maelstrom of money swirling around unpaid athletes.
Bowen and Dawkins knew each other through their hometown of Saginaw, Mich. The aspiring sports agent hoped to represent Tugs Bowen (photo) when he joined the NBA.
“He was helping me out with money,” Bowen Sr. said of Dawkins.
As Tugs Bowen rose to become one of the country’s top 10 high school prospects, Dawkins gave Bowen money every couple of months, the elder Bowen said.
When it came time for Tugs Bowen to select a college in 2017, the offers started pouring in via Dawkins, Bowen Sr. testified.
The University of Arizona offered $50,000 that would be paid by coach Joe Pasternak, Bowen said.
Oklahoma State offered $150,000 cash, $80,000 for a car and an undisclosed amount for a house, Bowen said. The money would come from Assistant Coach Lamont Evans, Bowen recalled. . The offers always came through Dawkins and Bowen never spoke directly with university officials, he testified.
Arizona was Tugs Bowen’s first choice, but he chose not to attend after two players with similar skill sets already on the team opted to stay in college and not declare for the NBA draft.
That’s when Dawkins suggested University of Louisville. The school’s sponsor, Adidas, would pay Bowen Sr. $60,000 to $80,000, he testified.
The team’s coach, Rick Pitino, was one of the most successful in the game.
“He thought he could further his career. Make him a better player, turn him into a long-term pro,” Bowen recalled of a conversation with Pitino.
Prosecutors introduced voicemails that Jim Gatto, the Adidas executive on trial, left for Pitino around the time Tugs Bowen visited the school and then chose to play for the Louisville Cardinals.
The coach was fired last year after being linked to the federal investigation. Pitino, who once coached the Knicks, has not been charged and denies any wrongdoing.