NEW YORK β Brad Augustine, the AAU coach of onetime Arizona target Nassir Little, detailed the recruiting whirlwind surrounding his star player in a recorded phone conversation played to jurors Tuesday as part of an ongoing federal fraud trial.
βThe kid likes Miami, but Iβm dealing with Sean at Arizona,β Augustine said in the recorded conversation, referring to UA coach Sean Miller. βI donβt think at the end of the day heβs going to Duke, but he might go to UNC.β
Little did just that, choosing the Tar Heels over Miami, Arizona and others. His decision came in October 2017, more than a week after a sweeping sting that led to the arrest of Augustine, Adidas employees and college basketball coaches, including former Arizona assistant Book Richardson. The charges against Augustine were dropped in February.
Testimony about secret payments drew to a close Tuesday after prosecutors asked the jury to focus on a flurry of texts and phone calls, some involving legendary Louisville coach Rick Pitino, about Brian Bowen Jr. in the days before the prized prospect committed to the school.
Christian Dawkins, a would-be sports agent courting Bowenβs family, former amateur league director Merl Code and former Adidas executive James Gatto have pleaded not guilty in federal court in Manhattan to charges that they committed fraud by funneling funds to families of coveted prospects to get them to attend major programs sponsored by the sneaker company.
Lawyers for the three defendants havenβt disputed that there was an effort to pay the playersβ families. But theyβve argued that the schools had to be aware of what was going on, and that neither they nor the NCAA suffered any harm.
Closing arguments are expected to begin Wednesday afternoon.
Brian Bowen Jr.'s name was among those mentioned in text messages presented to a federal jury Tuesday, including in conversations with former Louisville coach Rick Pitino.
Littleβs name has been mentioned sporadically during the trial. A week ago, Gattoβs attorney said in court that Arizona had offered β or was prepared to offer β $150,000 to land Little.
βJim was asked to level the playing field so Nassir could go to Miami, an Adidas school,β attorney Casey Donnelly said.
Little and his family have repeatedly said they neither sought nor received money, however, and evidence produced Monday appears to back up their claim. An Aug. 6, 2017, text exchange between Augustine and Dawkins shown to jurors Monday covered the topic of payments.
Dawkins texted to Augustine: βThatβs the issue with him going to an Adidas school because the family isnβt taking it.β
Augustine replied: βSo do I need to say the familyβs taking it?β
Dawkins responded: βI just worry about it getting back to them.β
Itβs unclear whether the text messages between Dawkins and Augustine were meant to say the Littles were offered money and didnβt accept it, or whether Dawkins and Augustine were making plans without the Littles knowing.
Itβs common for AAU coaches like Augustine to deal with colleges during the recruiting process, and nothing Augustine said in the recorded phone call would seem to implicate Miller or Arizona in impropriety.
The recorded conversation did cover Deandre Ayton, the former Wildcats star and No. 1 NBA Draft pick. On the recording, Dawkins vented to Augustine about T.J. Gassnola, a shoe consultant and fixer who testified last week that he paired recruits with Adidas-sponsored college programs.
βT.J. just (messed up) the whole Deandre Ayton thing, him not going to Kansas,β Dawkins told Augustine in the audio. βThat was T.J.β
Gassnola admitted as much last week. The fixer said he was disappointed that he couldnβt deliver Ayton to KU, an Adidas school, after testifying that he gave Aytonβs mother $15,000 through a family friend. Ayton instead signed with Arizona, a Nike school, then signed a lucrative shoe deal with Puma as a pro.
A corruption scandal led to the firing of former Louisville coach Rick Pitino and sidelined the playing career of standout recruit Brian Bowen Jr.
Evidence presented Tuesday showed a series of communications in May 2017, during which Dawkins asked Code if any Adidas schools were interested in the younger Bowen, who also was being recruited by Nike-sponsored Oregon and Arizona. Code texted back, βDonβt send Bowen to Oregon. Call me.β
After the two spoke by phone, Dawkins texted Pitino: βWould you have any interest in Brian Bowen or are you done with recruiting?β
Pitino responded: βWe would love to have him.β
The exhibit showed that Gatto also reached out to Pitino by text asking if they could speak on the phone, and records show that there was a conversation afterward. But none of the entries on the exhibit gave an indication that Pitino knew anything about an alleged scheme to give Bowenβs father $100,000 in violation of NCAA rules.
The corruption case caused a scandal that resulted in Bowen leaving Louisville before he ever played a game. The college also fired Pitino even though he denied any wrongdoing.
