Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 05/05/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for May 5.
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Louisville receives NOA
The University of Louisville received a Notice of Allegations on Monday pertaining to the men’s basketball program under Rick Pitino. The allegations stem from giving money to the father of five-star recruit Brian Bowen. The NOA includes one Level I violation (strongest) and three Level II violations.
Louisville, Pitino and Iona — Pitino’s new employer — all issued statements on Monday. “I firmly disagree with this allegation and will follow the protocols in addressing this allegation through the administrative process,” Pitino’s statement read. Iona added: “We support Coach Pitino and expect him to respond within the process.”
ETSU coaching developments
With Steve Forbes moving from East Tennessee State to take the Wake Forest job last week, another head-coaching job has opened up. Two names have already emerged for the ETSU vacancy in New Mexico State’s Chris Jans and Akron’s John Groce.
Reports have emerged saying that ETSU would be able to offer a significant bump in salary to Jans, who is 83-17 with the Aggies and has won the WAC regular season title each of his three years on campus. Fewer reports have surfaced about Groce, however, who has spent the past three years at Akron after coming over from Illinois. The Zips have one of the nation’s top mid-major players in Loren Jackson.
NCAA-certified agent nabs prospects
Despite the unknown of the pre-draft timeline, several college prospects continue to sign with agents and put their name in the draft pool. On Monday, Baylor’s Jared Butler, Saint Joseph’s Ryan Daly and Stanford’s Tyrell Terry all signed with NCAA-certified Mike Naiditch of Beyond Athlete Management.
There are 23 NCAA-certified agents who the NCAA allows college players to sign with while still maintaining eligibility. This ensures that these players can receive professional guidance during the pre-draft process while having the possibility of returning to college.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.