Michigan State Basketball: Brian Bowen allegedly accepted bribe from Louisville

After dropping out of Brian Bowen’s recruitment late in the process, Michigan State basketball looked to have dodged a major bullet.

From the beginning, it seemed like the recruitment of Brian Bowen was lasting unusually long. He said he was going to commit in December of 2016, but kept pushing his decision back. On June 3, the Michigan State basketball target from Saginaw, Mich., picked Louisville in a shocking move.

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The Cardinals weren’t even one of his final five teams when he released his top schools list, but neither was Oregon who also jumped into the race late.

This recruitment had people scratching their heads, but it was time to move on and focus on Michigan State’s stellar roster — one that coulee bring Tom Izzo his second national title.

Now, three-plus months later, teams are gearing up for their first basketball practices of the new season, but there’s news regarding Bowen’s recruitment that claims he allegedly took a bribe from Louisville to play basketball there.

It’s truly too early to call him guilty of such action, but according to the details from the FBI investigation, the wording is clear as day. A player agreed to a bribe amount in late May and committed in early June to Louisville. Bowen committed on June 3.

This is the second major scandal that Rick Pitino may be involved in and that could cost him his job — or at least it should if this turns out to be true.

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The former top target in Michigan State’s 2017 class, and former teammate of current MSU big man Jaren Jackson Jr., could be deemed ineligible for 2017-18 if it’s found that he did, in fact, accept the bribe. The FBI is investigating 10 other assistant coaches from top schools as well.