Rick Pitino Feels Louisville Isn't Ranked Due to Distraction from Escort Scandal

Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said Saturday he feels his team is not currently ranked by the Associated Press or coaches due to the ongoing investigation into whether the program used escorts on recruiting visits.

Per Jeff Greer of the Courier-Journal, Pitino said:

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I think people are looking at that and they're not really studying the team. We had the best recruiting class, I think, in college basketball, as far as I'm concerned. If you include Damion Lee and Trey Lewis, plus Deng Adel, Ray Spalding and Donovan Mitchell – Kentucky taught me how to get into the one-and-dones, and I'm doing it now, except I'm waiting for fifth-year guys instead of high school kids.

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247Sports ranked the Cardinals' recruiting class sixth overall. While Pitino's team lost its four leading scorers from last year's Elite Eight outfit—one possible explanation for the snubbing—there are a number of other teams that saw a mass exodus of talent but still get respect. Louisville is the highest-rated team from a 2015 recruiting perspective that is currently unranked.

The Cardinals appeared in the "also receiving votes" sections of both polls last week, so Pitino's point may be moot, but it's at least a topic worth broaching.

The controversy is based on a book by Katina Powell, an escort who said former Louisville assistant Andre McGee paid her and others to have sex with recruits and players. Powell's book has caused a massive ripple across the college basketball landscape, as the school, NCAA and state authorities have each launched an investigation.

An independent investigation by John Barr and Jeff Goodman for ESPN's Outside the Lines seemingly confirmed at least some of Powell's claims. A former Louisville recruiting target who played for another school described scenes at the school's Billy Minardi Hall, where women would strip and some had sex with players or recruits.

"I knew they weren't college girls," the recruit said. "It was crazy. It was like I was in a strip club."

However, multiple women involved in the controversy—including at least six named in Powell's book—have denied the allegations. There is an ongoing lawsuit against Powell filed on behalf of the women.

Pitino criticized the media's response to the accusations, per Greer:

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You believe it. That's the startling thing. Now we've got 11 women coming forward and saying that didn't happen, signing affidavits. Everybody just bought it. I wouldn't buy it for a second. Now, is there some truth in the allegations? I'm sure there are. But nobody called them to task. I don't know. I'm a doubting Thomas.

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Despite the controversy, the Cardinals are off to a 5-0 start. They'll have a chance to truly prove their mettle Wednesday night when they travel to Michigan State.

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