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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 18: Head coach Tom Izzo of the Michigan State Spartans walks off the court after being defeated by the Syracuse Orange 55-53 in the second round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Little Caesars Arena on March 18, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Michigan State basketball was one of the programs not willing to pay Brian Bowen to play for them, according to Christian Dawkins’ lawyer.
There’s always that one recruitment each cycle that everyone seems to get hung up on. That one player every fan seems to want more than the rest. While Brian Bowen may not have been the most sought-after prospect in Michigan State’s 2017 recruiting class, he was up there with Jaren Jackson Jr.
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The McDonald’s All-American is a native of Saginaw and it looked like he’d be a Spartan when all was said and done, joining his high school teammate at La Lumiere — Jackson Jr. — in East Lansing for the fall of 2017-18. That wasn’t the case.
Bowen’s recruitment was a never-ending roller-coaster and it ended with him pushing back his decision date month after month and then committing to Louisville out of the blue.
This was the recruitment that got Rick Pitino fired for the whole ‘pay to play’ controversy. Bowen’s family accepted cash in order to commit to the Cardinals and an FBI probe sniffed it out, ruling him ineligible for the 2017-18 season with the Cardinals so he transferred mid-season to South Carolina and eventually was black-listed by the NCAA.
Basically, Michigan State dodged a bullet in this recruitment even if the Spartans did try to go all-in for him. Fortunately, all-in for Tom Izzo doesn’t mean paying recruits.
Christian Dawkins, the mastermind behind this ‘pay to play’ controversy is in court and facing plenty of time for trying to swindle cash to recruits from big shoe companies and programs. His lawyer, Steve Haney, had one of the most interesting quotes about the issue that should make Spartan fans feel much better:
No, this isn’t a surprise to MSU fans who have seen the Spartans miss out on a plethora of recruits because Izzo doesn’t cheat. It does silence those select few doubters who called MSU ‘dirty’ because Miles Bridges’ mom allegedly accepted a couple hundred dollars in cash.
Michigan State runs a clean program and the lawyer for one of the shadiest ‘businessmen’ out there even admitted it.
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