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Starting Five: Louisville getting in front of investigation?

Louisville self-imposed a ban from this year’s NCAA Tournament. Should it be worried moving forward? Class of 2016 five-star forward Jonathan Isaac confirmed he’s looking into skipping college for the NBA. That and more in this week’s Starting Five.

1. Louisville self-imposes postseason ban

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Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino (Associated Press)

Louisville dropped a bombshell when it announced a one-year postseason Friday. This is related to the ongoing investigation into an escort’s claims that a Louisville staff member paid her to arrange sex for recruits and players.

The decision by Louisville to self-impose a postseason ban while an investigation is still ongoing is one that isn’t sitting well with Rick Pitino. Pitino has consistently denied any knowledge of wrongdoing and it is pretty clear that he disagrees with the decision made by his athletic director and school president.

What this tells us is that Louisville has at a minimum found some violations in regards to the scandal and they are trying to get out in front of them. It also says that there may be a disconnect somewhere in the athletic department for them to announce a punishment that -- looking from the outside in -- seems to have genuinely blind-sided Pitino.

For now, a very good Louisville team has lost a chance to compete for a Final Four or in the ACC Tournament. It means that their celebrated senior transfers Damion Lee (Drexel) and Trey Lewis (Cleveland State) won’t get to play in the NCAA Tournament after transferring to Louisville so that they could have the opportunity to do so.

Moving forward, what kind of damage could this do to the program? Until the results of the NCAA’s investigation are in, that’s just not an answer that we will have. At a minimum, it’s a very uncomfortable subject that the Cardinals coaches will have to discuss with any potential recruits and at it’s worst, it could cost them a player or two.

Regardless, it is a tough spot to be in and moving forward the AD and head coach of the basketball program have to be on the same page so they can present a united front and minimize any potential damage. Programs like Syracuse, SMU and North Carolina have shown that NCAA issues can be survived on the recruiting trail, so perhaps getting out in front of this will turn out to be the right decision.

2. Five-star Isaac to consider NBA

Jonathan Isaac
Jonathan Isaac ()


Five-star forward and Florida State commit Jonathan Isaac is considering skipping college in favor of entering the NBA Draft, according to a report by Sports Illustrated's Pete Thamel.

Currently ranked No. 14 in the class of 2016, Isaac and those around him at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy feel that he could fit eligibility requirements for the draft. That, combined with the NCAA’s new rules that are more lenient on prospects submitting and withdrawing for the draft, makes for an interesting case.

Essentially, Isaac feels he should be eligible because he is in his fifth (prep) year of high school. He was originally a member of the class of 2015 and although he did not actually graduate in 2015, he feels that he meets the requirements of being one year removed from his graduating class and turning 19 in the year of the draft.

Rivals.com asked Isaac about potentially entering the draft in November because of rumors that he was considering it. He said at the time that he had no plans to do so.

The next question will be whether or not he is actually eligible for the draft. We spoke with three separate NBA sources over the weekend and the first reaction by all of them would be that he would not be eligible because he has not graduated.

This is a developing story and one that we will have to watch. Others like Brandon Jennings, Jeremy Tyler and Emmanuel Mudiay have gone overseas instead of college, but Isaac would be the first to go to the NBA directly from prep school since the age of the one-and-done began with the high school class of 2006.

3. Australian invasion?

Jack White
Jack White (AUSA Hoops)

More and more it is looking like Australia has turned into a legitimate place for college programs to find talent. With Aussie Ben Simmons dominating for LSU as a freshman, the spotlight is shining more than ever on talent from down under.

Consider this: Five-star Thon Maker made his way to the States from Australia and SMU has made waves in the class of 2016 with two commits from Australia in four-star big man Harry Froling and guard Tom Wilson.

Now, there are two other big named Australians making news. Six-foot-4 point guard William McDowell-White recently visited Texas A&M and is currently on a visit to Arizona State. Physical and crafty, he’s a four-star prospect who has shown well against American competition.

Swingman Jack White announced he will visit Duke officially at the end of the month. A three-star prospect with a nice basketball frame and good athleticism, White has already visited Hawaii, Temple and Boise State. Per Australian recruiting guru Olgun Uluc of Fox Sports Australia, White is now down to Boise State and the Blue Devils.

4. Texas five-stars in holding pattern?

Marques Bolden
Marques Bolden ()

There aren’t many high-level big man prospects left in the class of 2016, but two of them hail from the state of Texas. Five-stars Marques Bolden and Jarrett Allen remain open and the question is, when will we see some movement?

At the moment, it doesn’t look like it will be anytime soon. Each appears to be in a holding pattern where speculation -- rather than concrete info -- rules the day.

A 6-foot-10 center from DeSoto (Texas) High, Bolden at least had Kansas remove itself from the mix when it took a commitment from another five-star center in Udoka Azubuike. That leaves Duke, Kentucky, Oklahoma and TCU for the top 20 prospect and the feel is that the Wildcats have an edge. However, they also have a crowded frontcourt between their current roster and 2016 recruiting class, so Bolden is likely going to have see who stays and leaves. Oklahoma is close to home and has been doing work under the radar while Duke continues to plug away. Until Bolden is ready to make a move, though, this one is up in the air.

Down in Austin, Allen has been on the campus of Texas for multiple games since the start of the new year. However, he has yet to show any signs that he’s ready to move towards a decision and along with the Longhorns, others that remain in contention include Houston, Notre Dame, Kansas and North Carolina.

5. St. John's goes International again

Under the direction of Chris Mullin, recruiting at St. John’s is taking on a definite International flavor.

In 2015, Mullin added Italian point guard Federico Mussini and big men Yankuba Sima (Spain) and Kassoum Yakwe (Mali). The latter two played high school ball in the States, but they certainly count and the trend has now continued in 2016.

St. John’s added four-star German forward Richard Freudenberg late last week. Currently playing for Bayern Munich’s second team, the 6-foot-8 Freudenberg is a good -looking prospect.

Though skinny, Freudenberg is very athletic and moves extremely well. He shoots with range and looks like he has a competitive edge to his game. At St. John’s, we see him playing both the three and the four and in the short-term we really like him as a potential floor-stretching faceup four man.

Now that Freudenberg is in the fold, Mullin has a very good 2016 class. Point guard Shamorie Ponds is a top 50 high school prospect while wing Bashir Ahmed is one of the better junior college prospects.

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