Quick Hitters
Bowen Sr.: Louisville assistant gave cash
NEW YORK — The father of a blue-chip college basketball recruit testified Tuesday that an assistant coach at the University of Louisville gave him a secret payment of $1,300 as part of a deal to get the son to sign with the school.
At a criminal trial about corruption in big-time basketball, Brian Bowen Sr. described setting up two meetings with assistant Kenny Johnson via text in 2017 to try to collect cash in violation of school and NCAA rules.
Bowen testified that the first time, Johnson was “shocked” and “flabbergasted” when he told him that defendant Christian Dawkins had promised that the coach would help the father with paying rent. The next time, he said, Johnson handed over $1,300 — reluctantly.
“He made it clear that this was a one-time deal for him,” Bowen said in federal court in Manhattan. “He said Louisville didn’t pay basketball players.”
There was no immediate response Tuesday to a message seeking comment from a lawyer for Johnson, who was never accused of a crime.
Louisville spokesman Kenny Klein said on Tuesday that the university is monitoring the trial, but he declined to comment further.
The testimony about the recruitment of Brian Bowen Jr. came in a case that prompted Louisville to fire both Johnson and its legendary coach, Rick Pitino. Johnson is now an assistant at La Salle.
Four games into the season, Jadon Hayes had 11 carries and 77 yards to his name.
The Arizona Western freshman running back was a third-stringer.
A few weeks later, there’s a lot more to write home about. Since taking over as the Matadors’ lead back two weeks ago at Glendale, Hayes has totaled 300 yards and three touchdowns on 39 carries and captured not one but two Western States Football League Offensive Player of the Week awards.
Hayes received the honor Tuesday following a 160-yard performance in a 3719 win at Scottsdale, one week after his 140-yard outburst in a 32-24 win at Glendale also earned him the honor.
For a player who didn’t even warrant a mention in the Yuma Sun’s positional overviews of the AWC football team two months ago, it’s been quite the out-of-nowhere rise.
“I was always taught to never give up and just keep practicing and keep doing what you do because I know I can play and I just had to keep showing it in practice and keep perfecting my craft,” Hayes said.
Sophomore Kendon Walker began the season as AWC’s starting running back and rushed for 123 yards in the opener against New Mexico Military Institute, but missed the following game with an injury and has been held to 32 yards or fewer in the four games he’s played since.
Freshman John Oliver, who was No. 2 on the depth chart to begin the season, has totaled 66 carries for 301 yards but just 11 for 59 the past two games while taking a backseat to Hayes.
Coach Tom Minnick made a point of also praising Walker and Oliver when discussing Hayes on Tuesday, but there’s no denying who the Matadors’ current top back is.
As he often does, Minnick compared Hayes’ skillset to former great AWC backs when analyzing Hayes. The 5-foot-10, 175-pounder’s best attribute is his Reggie Bullock-like vision, and though not a burner like the following