PHILADELPHIA– Merl Code may be awaiting prison time for his role in being a middleman in college basketball’s murky world of high stakes recruiting.
But the former Adidas consultant wants the world to know he wasn’t the only person who should have been on trial in 2017. Code pointed to high profile coaches like Will Wade of LSU, Sean Miller of Arizona, Rick Pitino of Louisville and Bill Self of Kansas and said they were also allegedly involved, even though none were ever charged.
“If anyone thinks there is such a thing as a clean big -time program, they need to wake up and small the donkey bleep,” Cade wrote in his book “Black Market: An Insiders’ Journey into the High Stakes World of College Basketball.”
Sports Illustrated obtained a copy of the explosive tell all. Among other things, Code wrote, “If I wanted to, if I really wanted to, I could create a real bleep storm in this space by mentioning the names of the coaches, athletic directors and big- time recruits at a number of high profile universities in the ACC, Big 12, Pac-12, Big Ten, the SEC and other major D I conferences over the years whose texts, emails and phone conversations were intercepted by the FBI, who the government so deftly kept away lfrom the jury
because it would have exonerated us. But doing that would serve no purpose I will simply say taht a massive amount of evidence was never presented to the jury.”
Code wrote the feds wanted him to cooperate to entrap Pitino and other big names. Once we weren’t willing to play their game and have our phone calls recorded, I think the focus of the investigation shrunk.”
Code wrote contrary to Pitino’s stated ignorance of the six- figure deal Code made with a Louisville assistant that led to Brian Bowden signing with Louisville, the Cardinals coach was aware of it.
“”The gist of the prosecution was that as it was related to me, my actions made Brian Bowden ineligible,” Code wrote, “thus defrauding the University of Louisville. As a consultant with Adidas, I did not act on my own, nor could I have done so. I simply ran the proposition by my bosses, who did the same after consulting with Rick Pitino and the answer that came back from high was, ‘Rick wants our help, Get it done.”’
Code also wrote $100,000 wasn’t a shocking number for a Top 15 recruit. In this business, it’s not an absurd ask Believe it or not it’s pretty commonplace estimated three quarters of top 50 recruits in a given year are compensated in some fro by agents, shoe companies, college boosters or other third parties
One of the transcripts entered into evidence in fed trail was a conversation regarding Zion Williamson between Code and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend in which Code told Townsend that the Williamsons family was asking for money ni he pocket and he’s asking for housing for him and his family. Townsend acknowledged requests, adding he could try to work to figure out a way ”because if that’s what it takes to get him for 10 months, we’re going to have to do it some way I don’t want this to be a deal breaker because if that’s what we got to do to get him.”
Self like Pitino has denied any knowledge of the potential deal for Williamson, but Code wrote in his book Bill Self was constantly kept abreast from his own coaches and higher ups at Adidas in terms of what was happening It’s all i the transcripts or intercepted text messages, but the jury never saw or heard any of it. Self has denied any of wrongdoing on his part. But higher ups at Kansas saw it and heard it. They chose to reward Self with a lifetime contract, which included an interesting clause which states the coach who won a national championship in 2008 could not be fired due to a current infractions matter.
Williamson turned down Kansas and signed with Duke where he had an impactful one and done season. that ended a recruitment that saw the family accepting money from both Nike and Adidas. Adidas was working with Williamson’s stepfather Lee Anderson and his mother Sharonda Sampson had worked out a deal with Nike to pay her as a consultant It turned out Lee was doing the most, but Sharonda had the real juice. Zion had own independent mind. Props to him for that.
The morning of April 20k, 2108 Clemson got word Zion would sign with them an hour later, At a press conference later that night, Zion, flanked by his mother, stepfather and two brothers, reached under the table and pulled out a Duke cap.,
“When I saw that that, I leaned back in my chair and said, ‘Well played.”’ Code wrote.
Code wrote he doesn’t know how Duke did it but the family, which was living on modest means, oved into a luxury neighborhood in Durham.
Code wrote he supplied grocery money to Lee Anderson then, just as he jumped to secure a five-figure payment to Anthony Davis during his one season at Kentucky. during the Cats championship run in 2012 season. Code wrote in early in Davis freshman season, his father was laid off and Nike came to the rescue. Code reportedly spoke with a former assistant AD who had created a T-shirt logo and convinced the guy to give a some of the profits from the sales to the Davis family. He wrote he delivered an envelope of cash worth $10,000 to Davis mom in Chicago before a game against Indiana. When coaches started bitching, Code wrote he quit over the stress.
