Kenny Johnson, a former assistant coach with the Louisville basketball program, influenced a team staff member to hide the fact that Christian Dawkins attended Brian Bowen’s unofficial visit to university, according to court documents that were made public on Wednesday.
David Padgett, another former Louisville assistant that acted as interim head coach after Rick Pitino was fired, acknowledged that he learned after the fact that Johnson had “influenced” then-Director of Basketball Operations Michael Bowden to hide Dawkins’ name from the unofficial visit form. Dawkins is the former runner for an NBA agent that has become the centerpiece of the FBI’s investigation into corruption in college basketball.
Bowden, according to WDRB in Louisville, confirmed in a separate deposition that Johnson texted him and made that request, and that after news of the FBI’s investigation and the involvement of Dawkins and Bowen, he was directed to change the form at the request of Louisville’s compliance office.
Johnson is currently an assistant coach with LaSalle.