Nassir Little’s family ‘did not ask for, nor were offered money,’ per AAU program

1 Family released a strongly-worded statement Thursday, denying the allegations surrounding its program’s players and families

The FBI arrested 10 people for bribery, fraud, and conspiracy among other charges Tuesday after they allegedly committed unlawful acts on the college basketball recruiting trail.

One of those people was Brad Augustine, the now-former director of AAU team, 1 Family.

The Department of Justice’s complaint alleges Augustine helped funnel payments to two recruits in return for their commitments to Adidas schools.

One of those recruits is suspected to be five-star wing Nassir Little, but 1 Family denied any wrongdoing by its program’s players and families Thursday, releasing this statement on Twitter:

“The Little family did not ask for, nor were offered money by an institution or individual. They were completely unaware of any of the alleged offenses that may have mentioned or contained their son’s name. There is not one player in our program, nor family member of any player, that had any knowledge or discussion about payments being made in regards to making a college decision.

“We stand by this 100% and will allow the truth to come out as this process unfolds. Any defamation or accusations made by media accusing any of our players of participating in said behavior will be documented and addressed legally. Our loyalty and commitment is to the young men we are blessed to coach and to their families. We fully support them and are standing with them in this process.”

The Arizona Wildcats possibly offered a recruit $150,000, per details in the FBI complaint, and were one of five teams in Little’s top five.

The Miami Hurricanes, also believed to be one of the schools implicated in the FBI’s investigation, were among Little’s top preferences as well.

Little tweeted (then deleted) that he had re-opened his recruitment Wednesday, after the details of the FBI’s investigation were unveiled.

While it is not clear if those two events are related, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress tweeted that some coaches backed off their recruitment of Little because “it became clear he was Arizona-bound.”

Givony also said there’s a “decent chance” Little is among those named in the FBI’s complaint.

The director of Nassir Little's AAU team is currently in jail, and there's a decent chance Little is among those named in FBI/DOJ complaint.

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) September 26, 2017

However, Little was not explicitly named in the FBI’s investigation — though it’s still possible he is one of the unnamed players involved — and 1 Family is adamant there was no foul play.

“We stand by this 100% and will allow the truth to come out as this process unfolds,” its statement read.

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Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter at @RKelapire

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