Louisville Probes Charge Crum Met With Recruit’s Mom

The University of Louisville will file a report to answer questions about whether basketball Coach Denny Crum violated NCAA rules by meeting with the mother of recruit Dwayne Morton two days before the prep standout committed to Louisville.

Louisville sports information director Kenny Klein said the school was “following the proper procedures and filing a report to the Metro Conference, which will in turn go to the NCAA to take any action necessary to clear up this.”

Klein said the university would “neither confirm nor deny any possible NCAA violations.”

Morton, a 6-6 forward at Louisville Central High, announced Wednesday that he would attend Louisville. He had been heavily recruited by both Crum and University of Kentucky coach Rick Pitino.

Crum said during a news conference that he met with the recruit’s mother, Charlotte Morton, and Louisville Central High School basketball coach Ralph Johnson Monday afternoon.

Crum said he was sitting in his office with former Louisville player Robbie Valentine after practice, and “in walked Charlotte Morton and Ralph Johnson. I said, ‘Hello,’ and they said, ‘Hi,’ and they said, ‘What’s going on?’ They said they came over to watch practice. I said sit down.”’

Crum said the four “conversed a while. We talked about a lot of things.”

Crum said the team finished practice earlier than usual because of a change in the training schedule. Practice was over by 5 p.m. CST, instead of the usual 6 p.m. quitting time.

According to Crum, Johnson then asked about a video he had seen earlier of a player who had spent some time in prison and now gives lectures to teen-agers about staying out of trouble.

“I said, ‘Would you like to see it?”’ Crum said. “Charlotte said, ‘Yeah’ ... It’s a very moving tape.”’

After the tape finished, Crum said, the group continued talking until Johnson suggested they all go to dinner together. Crum told Johnson he and Valentine already had plans to eat at a local restaurant, but they could all go together.

“I said, “By the way, I’m afraid I cannot pay for your meal,’ ” Crum said. “He (Johnson) said, ‘I am aware of that.’ Robbie (Velentine) said it was my idea anyway, so I’ll pay for the meal.”’

Crum said he was not aware he was violating any NCAA rule by having dinner with Mrs. Morton, adding that he would not have done so if he had known.

“I can assure you had I known it was a violation I sure wouldn’t have gone out in public to a public restaurant with a person I was committing a violation with,” he said. “I may not be the smartest person in the world, but I’m not that dumb. It was strictly accidental.”

Klein said the report to the Metro Conference was a routine step.

“We’ve done things as we have in the past,” he said. “Here’s what happened. We’re certainly not trying to cover anything up.”

NCAA rules prohibit coaches from having any contact with prospects or their families during a “dead period” of 48 hours before the prospect signs a letter of intent.

“If there is a contact, that’s a recruiting violation,” said David Berst, assistant executive director for enforcement with the NCAA. “Any recruiting violation affects the eligibility of the athlete involved, at least at the institution that violates the rule.”

Berst said he could not speculate on what could happen to Louisville.

“I wouldn’t attempt to speculate on it,” he said. “We’ll review it when we review the information from the institution. That’s the typical procedure.”

Klein said he did not know how long it would take to compile a full report.

“It’s not any big deal, really,” he said. “We’re making a report is all. We’ll just wait and see what the outcome of that is.”

Morton said he decided to play for Louisville because he wanted to be close to home and his mother.

Morton, who averaged 25.9 points and 8.9 rebounds last year, enters his senior year as Central’s all-time leading scorer with 1,721 points.