Recruits may be wary

LEXINGTON, Ky. – College basketball observers expect questions about Rick Pitino’s character to complicate the University of Louisville’s recruiting after the coach told police he had an extramarital sexual encounter and then paid for an abortion.

In noting the likelihood of what’s known in basketball parlance as negative recruiting, analyst Brick Oettinger said, “For some people, obviously, it would be a factor because it raises questions of character about the person mentoring your son. So you know it’s going to be used against them.”

Jerry Meyer, an analyst for the Rivals.com recruiting service, said Louisville’s competitors would have to be careful in using the information.

“It would be an implied thing,” he said. “They’ll talk of the virtue of their coaching staff.

“… Negative recruiting can easily backfire. If I start slamming Rick Pitino, I don’t look good.”

Oettinger saw the lure of Pitino preparing players for the NBA as outweighing any negative fallout.

“There are going to be some players more concerned with their chances of getting prepared for the NBA than they are anything else,” he said.