Text messages show Bill Self and Kansas coaches knew of Adidas' shady role in recruiting

For years we have heard rumblings about some of the shady recruiting tactics at Kansas under Bill Self and wondered if/when some of that truth would eventually come to light. When the FBI got involved with the nationwide college basketball scandal, some Kansas players and those associated with the program were named in the initial documents, and it seemed like it was just the start of more information connected with the Jayhawks. The FBI trial began, and as expected, a few other tidbits came out about Kansas’ involvement with Adidas and some of the shady characters connected with the apparel company. The more in-depth we got, the more we learned about both current Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa and former guard Billy Preston and their highly questionable recruitments. During the FBI college basketball recruiting trial today, we may have gotten the bombshell report we've all been waiting for. According to texts released to the public today between former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola and Kansas head coach Bill Self, the Kansas coaching staff acknowledged Adidas' involvement with De Sousa during his recruitment. Gassnola testified last week that he agreed to pay De Sousa's guardian Fenny Falmagne $20,000 to steer him away from Maryland, and Self got involved in the equation soon after. ESPN posted a timeline of the text messages in chronological order and the context behind them, starting with Self contacting Falmagne.

"I don't remember the words, but Fenny (Falmagne) told me he was under this umbrella from the [Maryland] booster," Gassnola testified Monday. On Aug. 9, 2017, Townsend texted Gassnola and wrote, "Coach Self just talked to Fenny let me know how it goes." A few hours later, Gassnola texted Self: "Hall of Fame. When you have 5 minutes and your [sic] alone call me." Later that night, after Self hadn't responded, Gassnola texted him again: "I talked with Fenny." "We good," Self asked via text. "Always," Gassnola replied. "That's [sic] was light work. Ball is in his court now."

A head coach asking an Adidas consultant if things were "good" with De Sousa and his guardian and Gassnola responding that it "was light work." Not shady at all, right? And then it gets better. The cellphone records during the testimony indicated Gassnola and Self then had a "five-minute, six-second phone call later that night," though the phone was not monitored via FBI wiretaps at the time. From there, Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend was in contact with Gassnola, who said things were in order for a commitment soon after.

On Aug. 26, 2017, Townsend forwarded Gassnola a text message that he said he'd received from Falmagne: "Coach has been on the phone with Angola (De Sousa's native country). We are good to go. We will commit tomorrow." De Sousa, who attended IMG Academy, committed to Kansas four days later.

Texts revealed that Self and Gassnola talked about Kansas wanting to stay on the same level playing field as North Carolina, Duke, and... Kentucky.

On Aug. 19, 2017, three days before Kansas announced that it had agreed to a 12-year, $191 million contract extension with Adidas, Gassnola texted Self and thanked him for helping the sponsorship deal get done. Self responded: "I'm happy with Adidas. Just got to get a couple real guys." Gassnola replied: "In my mind, it's KU, bill self. Everyone else fall into line. Too (expletive) bad. That's what's right for Adidas basketball. And I know I am RIGHT. The more you win, have lottery pics [sic] and you happy. That's how it should work in my mind." Self responded: "That's how ur works. At UNC and Duke." Gassnola replied at Kentucky as well. "I promise you I got this," Gassnola wrote. "I have never let you down. Except Dyondre lol. We will get it right."

The "Dyondre" mentioned above was later confirmed as being Deandre Ayton, the former Arizona big man and No. 1 draft selection back in June. ESPN released a report right in the heart of postseason play indicating Sean Miller was caught on FBI wiretap committing to pay the star big man $100,000 to play at Arizona. So to put the icing on the cake, this means Kansas/Adidas were working on Ayton becoming a Jayhawk. Gassnola testified in federal court today that he didn't believe Self and Townsend were aware of the money being discussed between Adidas and the parents/guardians, but the text messages don't lie. To read the rest of the report, head on over to ESPN right here. [mobile_ad]