Brian Bowen No Longer Enrolled at Louisville, Seeking Reinstatement at South Carolina

Daniel Rapaport | Sports Illustrated

Brian Bowen, the former five-star recruit at the heart of the latest Louisville basketball scandal, is no longer enrolled at Louisville and has been admitted to South Carolina, reports ESPN’s Jeff Goodman.

Bowen, who was a McDonald’s All-American, is believed to be the person referred to in the government lawsuit against former Adidas executive James Gatto as “Player-10.” In the complaint, Adidas executives are accused of funneling $100,000 to Bowen—with coach Rick Pitino’s knowledge—to secure Bowen’s commitment to Louisville. He committed to Louisville in early June despite the Cardinals’ being one of the last teams to recruit him.

Bowen has denied having any knowledge of the alleged payment.

Shortly after the complaints, which were the result of a multiyear FBI investigation into college basketball recruiting, became public, Bowen was suspended by Louisville . He was cleared for reinstatement after he was cleared by the FBI but has not played this season, and Louisville announced in November that he would not appear for the team this year. Bowen will seek reinstatement to the NCAA at South Carolina with an eye toward returning to the court as soon as possible.

Louisville spokesman John Karman confirmed to the Courier-Journal that Bowen did not enroll in classes for the Spring 2018 semester, and athletics spokesman Kenny Klein confirmed that Bowen had been granted a full transfer release. The 6’7” forward will still have to sit out a year if he transfers to another Division I program such as South Carolina.

The alleged bribing of Bowen cost Pitino his job, and athletic director Tom Jurich was relieved of his duties as well. David Padgett replaced Pitino and has guided Louisville to a 11-4 record thus far.

South Carolina is 10-5 and 2-1 in SEC play one year after the Gamecocks reached the Final Four under coach Frank Martin.