What Frank Martin said about Brian Bowen

The South Carolina basketball team has signed Brian Bowen, the five-star Louisville recruit linked to the scandal that brought down Rick Pitino.

Here’s what Gamecocks head coach Frank Martin said about Bowen in a statement released Wednesday from the university.

“Brian is an exceptional young man and a basketball player with a very high IQ for the game. He brings a high-level skill set to the court and will make an immediate impact on our team with him joining us on the practice courts this week. He is a strong, athletic small forward, who can really shoot the ball and rebound.

Brian deserves a fresh start and I would like to thank our University administration, President [Harris] Pastides, our Board of Trustees and Ray Tanner for their hard work and guidance in helping Brian become a member of our Gamecock family.”

South Carolina Athletics Director Ray Tanner said, in a statement: “What better coach is there to help Brian grow as a student-athlete and more importantly as a young man than Frank Martin and his staff? Over the coming months, we will work diligently with the NCAA through our compliance office to ensure that Brian is eligible for competition.”

The 6-foot-7, 195-pound Bowen has enrolled at South Carolina, according to the school, and per NCAA transfer rules will have to sit for two semesters before being eligible to play.

Bowen played at La Lumiere School in La Porte, Ind. He signed with Louisville in summer 2017, spent the fall semester enrolled at the school but did not play.

This story was originally published January 10, 2018 at 6:21 PM with the headline "What Frank Martin said about Brian Bowen."