Defense attorneys for aspiring agent Christian Dawkins and former Adidas consultant Merl Cade, the two men accused of bribing college basketball coaches, attempted to persuade jurors Friday that the payments made weren’t really bribes, but just a con job to get potential investors to part with their money.
But as the government brought on its second witness, the calls, text messages and emails showing discussions about paying players, their families and coaches—in exchange for getting young players to sign with the defendants—continued to mount.
On Thursday, prosecutors showed video of a meeting that Dawkins attended in July 2017 with Creighton then assistant Preston Murphy, where Murphy accepted a $6,000 payment from an undercover FBI agent posing as an investor in Dawkins’ new financial services company. Government witness—who participated in the string—testified Thursday Murphy was one of the coaches Dawkins was going to pay to gain influence with top players.
During the meeting at a Las Vegas hotel room Murphy talked about how he could deliver a top NBA prospect by the name of Marcus Phillips.
When defense attorney cross examined Blazer Friday, he asked if Blazer would be surprised to learn there was no one names Marcus Phillips who ever played for Creighton and that when Dawkins and Murphy walked out of the room together, they “laughed all the way down the hall.’’
The Blue Jays had a Marcus Foster at the time, but no Marcus Phillips.Haney also asked about other payments made to coaches in the hotel room, including $6000 to former TCU assistant Corey Baker and $13,000 to former coach Tony Bland, one of the coaches who pleaded guilty in connection with the case. On Thursday, Blazer testified Dawkins needed to get the money to Bland for a potential recruit—Marvin Bagley, who eventually reclassified in the summer of 2018 and committed with Duke. Haney asked Blazer whether Bland, who was making $400,000 and using a private plane, could be bribed for a few thousand dollars?
He also asked whether Blazer followed Bland and Dawkins down to the casino floor and saw Bland give Dawkins the money back, implying Dawkins deposited it in an ATM machine shortly afterwards. “With all your experience as a con man,’’ Haney said to Blazer, “you weren’t aware that Christian Dawkins was hustling all of you?’’
After Blazer’s questioning, the government showed the jury additional text messages, emails and phone calls referring to coaches and players. They also brought in their second witness—Dawkins’ former business partner Munish Sood, a New Jersey investment banker who was indicted in August and pleaded guilty to a series of bribery related charges in Aug. 18 and turned states’ evidence.
Prosecutors showed a copy of an email from April 2016 from Dawkins to Sood and Blazer listing several players and possible arrangements. One of the players listed was Michigan State star Miles Bridges, who played two seasons for the Spartans. “His family needs $2,500 a month. He should be a one-and-done and be drafted in the 15-20 range,’’ the email said.
Another of the players listed was Emond Sumner, who was a guard at Xavier. Sood testified that Sumner needed $75,000 in the coming year. Sood said he didn’t give Sumner the money, but he did give Sumner a load—after he was draft—to insure he would become a client and had to pay off a prior financial advisor with whom Sumner had a previous arrangement.
