The Last Temptation of Rick Pitino: A Story of Corruption, Scandal, and the Big Business of College Basketball

By the time Brian Bowen Jr., nicknamed "Tugs," reached twelfth grade, he was six foot seven. He had played at a couple of different high schools and on several grassroots basketball teams. Like many of his peers, he was a free agent at a young age, always open to better opportunities. Some of the nation's most famous college basketball coaches called him, texted him, sent him letters, and attended his games. In coach Rick Pitino's telling, Bowen's decision to come to Louisville was a gift that fell from the heavens, like one of those letters informing its recipient of some large sum of money left by a distant relative. "We spent zero dollars recruiting a five-star athlete who I loved when I saw him play," he said. "In my forty years of coaching, this is the luckiest I've been." Documents filed by federal prosecutors identified a focus of their bribery and corruption inquiry as "University-6"-"a public research university located in Kentucky." A top player who signed with its basketball team late in the recruiting season and seemingly out of the blue was "Player-10." The man who would coach this surprise recruit was "Coach-2." All of this was easily and instantly decoded. The university was Louisville. The player, Brian Bowen Jr. The coach, Rick Pitino. Book jacket.