The Official UofL Thread (UPDATE: Pitino, Jurich Reportedly Out)

[KevinHall]

The book Play Their Hearts Out is maybe the best basketball book I've ever read. It's got all kinds of stuff about the shoe companies in there. They pay thousands upon thousands of dollars to outfit AAU teams.

If they're doing that for high schoolers, then God knows what they've been doing on the college level for going on four decades now.

The only surprise there is that it was just one other shoe company who was trying to bid on the player.

Raw Recruits is another book that delved into the shoe business in college basketball. This was written nearly 30 yeas ago too. So this has been going for literally decades now.

[KCKUKFan]

If they clean house today, how long till the NCAA starts it's investigation? Will they even have to investigate, since the FBI did it already?

[KCKUKFan]

And shoe companies will NEVER be split up from college sports. Ever. Ever. Ever.

Too much money on the table.

[SCBlu]

Deener and company were discussing this this a.m. Perin Johnson agreed it had to be someone with Louisville ties from years-decades ago like Davenport or Kenny Payne - at least to get them through the next few years. If David Padgett is clean of all of this, he'd be a likely interim coach.

First practice starts in 2 days.

Dave Bilss, Billy Gillespie....?

[TrueblueCATfan]

Dan Wolken had a great tweet on just that. He said Rick Pitino is the most succesful person in history that never knows anything important.

Call me crazy, but I really feel he knew nothing about this. Why would he say something to the effect that the "recruitment" of Bowen was so easy and it cost them nothing? I put recruitment in quotes because they weren't recruiting him. One would think he would choose his words better if he knew what was really going on.

I believe he knew about the hookers but not this. It's 3 scandals for Rick since 2009. No way he survives this if he were innocent of all three. But he's guilty in two of them and this one is just unfortunate for him. Three stripes and you are out Rick ( 3 stripes for adidas. See what I did there?).

Times like these are when I wish we still had Redandblackattack and Noknee6of7 on the board. If only I could be a fly on the wall in their house?

That Noknee6of7 was a hoot

[Joneslab]

Raw Recruits is another book that delved into the shoe business in college basketball. This was written nearly 30 yeas ago too. So this has been going for literally decades now.

I've read this one too. Found it in Half-Price Books three or four years ago.

Great book...but a lot of Kentucky stuff. Gets deep into the Chris Mills thing.

TBH this book was the first thing I thought of when all this broke yesterday. It felt like it was 1987 all over again hearing some of those stories.

[UK8STL11]

If Pitino is going to be fired, it's not going to be today.

His contract requires 10 days notice before he can be terminated.

https://twitter.com/MarcusGreenWDRB/status/913040137960984583

[Joneslab]

Another good one is Darcy Frey's masterpiece The Last Shot.

It was Hoop Dreams before Hoop Dreams came out. It gets into the point that Downes is making: that as dirty as this game is, as much of a hustle as it is, the services being provided by these guys are perversely needed.

[J.Jennings]

And all the Louisville fans can talk about is 31 years not beating Florida in football lol lol lol lol.....


I will enjoy each and every minute of watching Louisville and it's fanbase self destruction.........

[KCKUKFan]

If Pitino is going to be fired, it's not going to be today.

His contract requires 10 days notice before he can be terminated.

https://twitter.com/MarcusGreenWDRB/...40137960984583

Surely, if there is cause then this is null and void.

[Lighthouse]

I agree. But I'm also talking about poverty, and popularity, and self-esteem. A lot of these kids get new Nike and Adidas shoes and apparel through these programs, then they get to wear that stuff to school and mask the fact that they come from poverty.

They don't have to wear hand-me-downs and dirty shoes and feel bad about themselves in the lunch line; they can put on their new (free) Jordans and escape some of the harsher realities of their lives. I know the system needs to be scrubbed clean, but I'd hate for kids to suffer as a result.

I totally agree, and I see it first hand when I go into the schools to speak to a FCA Huddle, or to evaluate officials. But that problem could be handled differently without the enormous amount of money the shoe companies send to Universities. Evidently that money is spent more for control than to help kids.

[Joneslab]

It would appear that Tom Jurich has been fired.

[teamchemistry15]

And all the Louisville fans can talk about is 31 years not beating Florida in football lol lol lol lol.....


I will enjoy each and every minute of watching Louisville and it's fanbase self destruction.........

Lolololololololol I had one say on Facebook "Kentucky fans are hoping the FBI shuts down Louisville unlike they could in the basketball game last year." That's literally they're only come back right now.

[KevinHall]

Pitino's lawyer says he won't go down with out a fight. Get the popcorn out.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2017/09/27/rick-pitino-fight-fired-louisville-basketball-scandal/707272001/

[KevinHall]

It would appear that Tom Jurich has been fired.

Tweets show him headed to the UL Presidents office.