Brian Bowen, player tied to Rick Pitino's firing, will not play for Louisville

ByJEFF BORZELLO
November 22, 2017, 11:15 AM

— -- Louisville announced Wednesday that freshman Brian Bowen will not play for the university.

Bowen is not allowed to practice or play for the team. He will remain on scholarship as long as he is at Louisville but could transfer to another school, according to the university.

"Brian has been a responsible young man for the institution since he enrolled," Louisville interim athletic director Vince Tyra said. "He has endeared himself to his teammates and the men's basketball staff with a positive attitude during a very difficult period."

Along with possibly transferring, Bowen could choose to pursue professional opportunities.

Bowen was suspended indefinitely in late September after an FBI investigation into corruption and bribery in college basketball recruiting. Federal documents allege that Adidas funneled $100,000 to an unnamed player, later identified as Bowen, to sign with Louisville at the request of a Cardinals coach.

The investigation into the Louisville program resulted in the firing of head coach Rick Pitino last month.

Earlier this month, Bowen's lawyer told ESPN that the FBI had cleared the freshman.

Jason Setchen, Bowen's lawyer, said that Bowen found out about Louisville's decision through Twitter and that he still wants to play college basketball as opposed to going overseas or playing in the G League.

"Brian's done nothing wrong," Setchen said. "We've gone above and beyond in an effort to provide the university and the NCAA with unfettered access to evidence in support of our position -- which is that he had no knowledge or involvement in any purported scheme.

"Our expectation was ultimately that he would be reinstated and be able to play and treated fairly. I don't believe he was treated fairly by Louisville, but my conversations with the NCAA give me every reason to believe he will be afforded due process and ultimately given his dream to play college basketball."

Bowen, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Saginaw, Michigan, was a five-star prospect coming out of high school. He was ranked No. 14 in the ESPN 100 for 2017.

Louisville also announced Wednesday that it has terminated the employment of former associate head coach Kenny Johnson, who had been placed on paid administrative leave after the FBI investigation.