Duke target and five-star Class of 2018 recruit Nassir Little has denied reports that he asked for or was extended an offer for money in recruiting, the News & Observer reported Thursday.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations charged his AAU coach, Jonathan Augustine, in a case that the FBI says involves "bribery, corruption, and fraud." Augustine was one of 10 indicted by the FBI Tuesday in a case that involved four Division I assistant coaches. According to the News & Observer, Augustine is "alleged to be part of a scheme to pay players’ families in exchange for those players going to certain universities sponsored by Adidas.”
"The Little family did not ask for, nor were offered money by any institution or individual,” the team said in a statement on Twitter. “They were completely unaware of any of the alleged offenses that may have mentioned or contained their son's name."
According to the News & Observer, Little was not mentioned in the FBI report, but outlets like the Miami Herald have reported that Little was the player in question, receiving offers of money to attend Miami.
The 6-foot-6 small forward has received offers from North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia Tech and Miami in addition to Duke. ESPN ranks him as the No. 14 overall recruit in the class and the No. 4 small forward.
Head coach Mike Krzyzewski already has two commitments to his Class of 2018—five-star recruits Cam Reddish and Tre Jones, the brother of ex-Duke star Tyus Jones.
The Blue Devils have also extended offers to five-star point guard Darius Garland, five-star power forward Zion Williamson and the No. 1 overall player in the class, R.J. Barrett.
According a report from Scout's Sam Webb, Barrett cancelled his visit to Michigan and elected to drop Arizona from his list after the Wildcats were implicated in the FBI investigation, according to DuckReport.com.
That leaves Duke, Kentucky and Oregon as Barrett’s top three choices. If Barrett commits to play in Durham, it would mark the third consecutive year Krzyzewski would land a No. 1 overall recruit, following Harry Giles and Marvin Bagley III.
Scout National Recruiting Director Evan Daniels projects Barrett will sign with Duke, giving him a 55 percent chance to sign according to 247Sports Crystal Ball.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.
Managing Editor 2018-19, 2019-2020 Features & Investigations Editor
A member of the class of 2020 hailing from San Mateo, Calif., Ben is The Chronicle's Towerview Editor and Investigations Editor. Outside of the Chronicle, he is a public policy major working towards a journalism certificate, has interned at the Tampa Bay Times and NBC News and frequents Pitchforks.