Stacy Revere/Getty Images While the family of Brian Bowen allegedly received $100,000 for his commitment to Louisville, his father—Brian Bowen Sr.—testified Thursday that he received offers from several other schools. According to Adam Zagoria of the New York Times, he was offered money and benefits from Arizona, Oklahoma State, Texas, Creighton and Oregon. Jeff Borzello of ESPN provided a detailed breakdown of what each program offered Bowen: He reportedly did not recall what Oregon offered him, per Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports. He said the eventual price of $100,000 to attend Louisville was initially $60,000-80,000 but went up to match what Billy Preston received to attend Kansas, per Wetzel. Bowen noted he has gotten paid for his son to be a member of several teams well before college: This news came up during the first college basketball corruption trial, featuring former agent Christian Dawkins and Adidas employees Jim Gattor and Merl Code as the defendants. They are accused of orchestrating a pay-for-play scheme that helped send talented high school basketball players to Adidas-sponsored schools. Video Play Button Videos you might like While the younger Bowen was a 5-star recruit according to 247Sports, he was not allowed to play at Louisville and eventually ended his college career without playing a second after transferring to South Carolina. He signed a contract with the Sydney Kings in Australia.<doc-sep>WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 16: Brian Bowen of the Kings watches on during the NBL pre-season match between the Illawarra Hawks and the Sydney Kings at WIN Entertainment Centre on September 16, 2018 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images) Brian Bowen Jr. and his recruitment have been a part of a highly publicized trial regarding the dark side of NCAA Basketball. Should the details involved really be that surprising? Brian Bowen Sr. never thought it would come to this. How many parents would ever anticipate testifying in federal court, laying out the groundwork behind multiple compensation deals that schools and shoe executives offered him for his son to play NCAA basketball? And yet, that was just where Bowen Sr. found himself on Thursday, as he testified under oath during the ongoing trial that looked to build off of the FBI’s probe into college basketball recruitment. Beyond Louisville’s six-figure offer, SI’s Emily Caron lays out in detail the multitude of offers that Bowen Sr. claims he received for Brian Jr.’s services: Louisville was just one of many schools recruiting Bowen Jr. and offering his father money in the process. Bowen Sr. said his offers also included bribes from several assistant coaches on teams attempting to land his son. While Bowen Sr.’s direct examination is only halfway complete, a $50,000 offer from ex-Arizona assistant coach Joe Pasternack, a $150,000 cash offer that also included an additional $8,000 for a car and undisclosed amounts for a house from ex-Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans and a $100,000 offer with a promise of employment from Creighton were already unveiled, per Wetzel. These revelations from Thursday’s testimony have only solidified what has been known in college basketball circles for some time: it’s a pay-to-play system. If you’re a university looking to compete at the highest levels, it’s a pretty simple formula. Do you want to win the most games? Recruit the best players, and do whatever is necessary to get them to come to your campus. But you know what the best players in the country have realized? They are worth money — a lot of it. Brian Bowen Jr. is just one of a host of athletes who know their worth and are not willing to settle for the NCAA’s freakishly outdated student-athlete basis. The NCAA’s complicity in this is crystal-clear. Defenders of the NCAA might point to the NCAA’s lack of regulatory power and would point to the bad-apple schools and shady external figures (shoe companies, AAU coaches, etc.) as the clear and sole culprits. However, it’s hard to give a real legitimacy to takes like these when you consider what matters most in all of this: money. Based on their audited financial statements, the NCAA cleared $1 billion in revenue for the 2017 fiscal year, and schools obviously got a decent chunk of that. The NCAA distributes money to participants in the NCAA Tournament — schools apparently have always realized the incentives to fielding excellent teams, because good play coupled with postseason success equals dollar signs. The shock that exists in multiple areas of society when allegations of corruption in college sports truly boggles the mind of anyone with any ability to read the tea leaves that are thrust right in front of them on a daily basis. All it takes is for anyone to flip on the sports network of their choice: you will find that these kids who are out there “for the love of the game” are playing in a game that is saturated with ad and TV revenue that is changing hands right above their heads. High-revenue sports are commanding TV contracts that are astronomical. In 2016, CBS, Turner and the NCAA came to an $8 billion plus agreement that secured broadcasting rights of the NCAA Tournament through 2032. Compensation of players is not being held up by a lack of funds. Those who oppose the idea of paying players will constantly tell you that players are already receiving benefits in scholarships and meals that are equal to (or outweigh) their worth as athletes. But how can anyone honestly look at the revenue that is generated off the backs of these players and not call it what is — blatant exploitation? When a college basketball coach can be paid millions of dollars to stand on the side of the court while these same athletes put their bodies on the line and receive no fitting compensation, the system isn’t broken: it’s shattered. The student-athlete model currently in place in the NCAA is not built to be a sound foundation in the world of collegiate athletics that currently exists. It was never built for that. Brian Bowen Jr. and players like him know the rules. They are just playing the game that the NCAA has forced them to play.<doc-sep>
After a mostly non-eventful morning in Day 3 of the trial, the afternoon saw plenty of fireworks as Brian Bowen Sr., the father of former five-star prospect Brian Bowen Jr., hit the stand. Bowen Sr. said that any number of colleges offered money and services to try and land his son, the No. 5 small forward and No. 19 overall player in the 247Sports Composite, from what Bowen was told by prospective agent Christian Dawkins. Among the alleged dollar amounts, per Yahoo Sports writer Dan Wetzel: Joe Pasternack . $50,000 from Arizona, allegedly offered through then-assistant coach Lamont Evans . $150,000, along with $8,000 for a car and “some undisclosed amount to buy a house” allegedly offered by then-Oklahoma State assistant coach Mike Morrell . Dawkins allegedly told Bowen Texas would “help me with housing,” and attributed that to then-assistant Preston Murphy. "Like $100,000 and a good job, like a lucrative job,” through Creighton assistant coach Bowen Sr. was also asked about Oregon — remember that both the first day’s opening statements and a recording on the second day alleged that Oregon was preparing to offer him “an astronomical” amount of money to attend school there — but said that he did not remember discussing Oregon specifically with Dawkins. Kansas also received mention in Thursday’s testimony, despite never showing up on Bowen’s recruiting radar. Bowen Sr. said that his original offer to attend Louisville — $60,000 to $80,000 — was increased to $100,000 because that was how much Adidas paid Billy Preston to attend Kansas. Interestingly enough, neither Preston nor Bowen ever suited up in an official game for the schools they chose. Preston was suspended for Kansas’ opener, then suspended again indefinitely after the university looked into the details of a car crash he had. After Kansas turned the matter over to the NCAA, and the NCAA failed to make a quick decision, Preston left school to play professionally in Bosnia. He went undrafted in June, but signed a two-way contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. After court documents were initially released that indicated Louisville’s involvement with Bowen, athletic director Tom Jurich and basketball coach Rick Pitino were fired. Bowen was then told by the school that he would be ineligible to play there, with the talented wing electing to transfer to South Carolina. He never played there either, entering his name for the 2018 NBA Draft, but withdrew his name at the international deadline. He has signed with the Sydney Kings in Australia’s pro league. Additionally, Bowen Sr. said Dawkins and Chris Rivers with Adidas paid him $25,000 for Bowen to play grassroots basketball with the Michigan Mustangs one summer. He said he was paid $5,000 to $8,000 for Bowen to play another summer with Nike’s Chicago-based Mean Streets, while he alleged that then-La Lumiere coach Shane Heirman paid him $2,000 per month to attend school there. And there’s almost certainly more to come. “Needless to say, it was an eventful testimony and direct examination is only half done,” Wetzel tweeted.