Attorney: Brian Bowen is enrolling at South Carolina, seeking reinstatement from NCAA
The prized freshman at the center of Louisville’s latest men’s basketball scandal will try to jumpstart his stalled career at another school.
Former McDonald’s All-American Brian Bowen is enrolling at the University of South Carolina and applying for reinstatement from the NCAA, his attorney confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Wednesday evening.
“I cannot speak for the NCAA but I am confident that they will be fair and will afford Brian the due process that he deserves,” attorney Jason Setchen said. “Based upon the facts and application of the NCAA’s Bylaws, Brian should be reinstated in my opinion. I have the utmost faith in the compliance staff at South Carolina and ultimately in the NCAA.”
Louisville suspended Bowen indefinitely in late September after the FBI went public with its bombshell investigation into bribery and corruption in college basketball.
The FBI alleged that an Adidas executive and a Louisville coach conspired to funnel $100,000 to the family of an elite recruit to play for the Cardinals and represent the shoe-apparel giant after he turns pro. The unnamed prospect then committed to Louisville on June 3, the same date Bowen ended a long, bizarre recruitment with the announcement that he had chosen the Cardinals.
Louisville announced in November that it had informed Bowen he would never be allowed to practice or play for the Cardinals at any point in the future. He had the right to remain on scholarship for as long as he chose to stay at Louisville and also received written permission to contact other schools to seek a transfer.
Setchen told Yahoo Sports in November that his client was “very disappointed” Louisville did not seek reinstatement on his behalf. Setchen also insisted there was overwhelming evidence “Brian did not participate in any of the alleged schemes nor did he have any knowledge their purported existence.”
While Bowen could have attempted to play professionally overseas for a year or just trained by himself in preparation for next year’s NBA draft, Setchen said in November that his client intended to try to play college basketball at another NCAA school. Now we know that school will be South Carolina, an interesting choice considering the Gamecocks were also ensnared by the FBI scandal.
Lamont Evans, a former assistant under Martin, was one of four assistant coaches named in the FBI complaint released in September. Evans, who coached at Oklahoma State last season, is accused of accepting at least $22,000 to “exert his influence over certain student athletes” at Oklahoma State and South Carolina.
Whether the NCAA corroborates the FBI’s allegations will determine if Bowen has the option of playing college basketball at South Carolina next season. The 6-foot-7 forward was not considered a clear-cut one-and-done prospect, but his combination of size, skill and outside shooting prowess could earn him the chance to play in the NBA someday.
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Jeff Eisenberg is a college basketball writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at daggerblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
