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JoeySimz
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NYC Hoops
Not sure if already posted. Scroll down for Whitehead/Willard/Pitino stuff.
On Quinerly:
The indictment says Richardson intended to lure Quinerly west with money. In July, Richardson met with Sood in his New Jersey office. Sood gave Richardson $15,000, and Richardson said Quinerly’s mother asked for money because “she didn’t know what I was already doing for her son.” Documents also note Dawkins is heard saying on a wiretap regarding Quinerly’s commitment to Arizona: “That deal got done.”
Following the indictment, Quinerly’s family retained legal counsel, and a day before the Dixon Classic, he de-committed from Arizona.
More on Quinerly:Following the indictment, Quinerly’s family retained legal counsel, and a day before the Dixon Classic, he de-committed from Arizona.
He is bound for Villanova, having moved on from Arizona and satisfied Villanova’s compliance office questions about his amateurism. Quinerly insists his focus is trained on preparing for the next level and the level beyond that.
“I feel like once you make the NBA, and it really becomes your job, you’re in the gym 24-7, and there’s so much more you can add to your game,” he says. “I can’t wait to have that opportunity: work on my game, not have to worry about school.”
Last section about Morton/Telfair/Pitino/Willard/Whitehead/Adidas:
Morton knows Adidas wants to move product. That is why they outfit his teams, to gain a foothold in the gym where Marbury, Sebastian Telfair, Lance Stephenson and Isaiah Whitehead all learned their wiles en route to the NBA. Telfair is remembered as the tipping point in Morton’s tenure, his No. 31 retired alongside Stephenson’s No. 1 and Whitehead’s No. 15 in the rafters. Gym rats like George Packer, a community man who attends every game, still tell about Telfair’s smile and smoothness in winning three PSAL titles in the 2000s. Derek Jeter and Jay-Z attended games, Telfair attracted college recruiters from all over and he became familiar with a number of the players in the FBI probe. By the August before Telfair’s senior year, Morton had become a paid consultant for Adidas. He has told The Daily News the deal was worth around $200,000. His Lincoln team and his A.A.U. program -- Juice All Stars — were provided uniforms and sneakers by Adidas. During his senior year, Telfair committed to Pitino at Louisville, an Adidas school, before declaring for the NBA draft in May instead. When he went pro, his agent was Miller. He signed a deal worth $10 million with Adidas before the draft. He was 18.
“Sports is the way we move on in our neighborhoods,” Morton says. “That’s how a lot of people see it.”
Morton knows what it means to be investigated. He has long faced allegations of illegal recruiting, and was once suspended one game by the Board of Education. A number of his transfers were ruled ineligible down the stretch this year. He complains about bureaucracy, and considers the decision “a personal attack.”
“Nothing new here,” he says.
There is a fresh set of questions, though. A Yahoo report shows Morton’s name next to an amount of $9,500 in a loan ledger from Miller’s agency, ASM Sports, obtained during the FBI probe. No date is listed. Also in the ledger are amounts of $26,136 and $37,657 next to the name of Whitehead, the city’s top player and a McDonald’s All American in 2014.
As colleges recruited Whitehead, Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard, the old Louisville assistant who had recruited Telfair, was 49-49 in three years as the Hall’s head coach, and knew he needed commitments from top talent in the area if he was to keep his job. At the time, Seton Hall was sponsored by Adidas, and Lincoln was sponsored by Under Armour. Willard landed Whitehead in September 2013, and then gained a commitment from his Lincoln teammate, Desi Rodriguez, two months later. In April 2014, Under Armour and Seton Hall announced a deal making the company the school’s exclusive outfitter for all 14 varsity sports beginning July 1. Five months later, Willard announced Morton’s hiring as an assistant coach on his staff. Family followed, too. Morton’s son, Trevonn, walked on at Seton Hall.
Whitehead stayed at Seton Hall for two years, leading the Pirates to a Big East tourney title and NCAA appearance before the Jazz selected him in the second round of the 2016 NBA Draft. He was traded to his current team, the Brooklyn Nets, that night. His agent was Miller. In December, three months after the FBI raided Miller’s office, Whitehead switched to Roc Nation’s representation.
