Bill Self, Kansas Were Aware of Adidas' Role in Silvio De Sousa's Recruitment

Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball coach Bill Self was apparently aware of Adidas' role in the recruitment of Silvio De Sousa. 

According to Mark Schlabach of ESPN.com, text messages presented by defense attorneys during the trial of former Adidas executive James Gatto, former Adidas employee Merl Code and Christian Dawkins, a former runner for former NBA agent Andy Miller, revealed Self and assistant coach Kurt Townsend were aware former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola helped recruit De Sousa to the Jayhawks.

Despite the texts, Schlabach noted Gassnola testified he didn't think Self or Townsend knew he was involved in exchanging money to steer recruits toward Kansas, an Adidas-sponsored school.

De Sousa was a 4-star prospect and the No. 32 overall player in the class of 2017, per 247Sports' composite rankings.

Gassnola testified he agreed to provide De Sousa's guardian, Fenny Falmagne, $20,000 to help guide him to Kansas and "get out from under" a payment already in place to send the forward to Maryland. He also testified he paid $90,000 to Billy Preston's mother before he also ended up at Kansas.

Schlabach included a number of the text messages the defense attorneys presented in his report, including one from Townsend to Gassnola revealing Self talked to Falmagne.

Gassnola also texted the following to Self and admitted he was discussing former Arizona Wildcats big man DeAndre Ayton: "I promise you I got this. I have never let you down. Except Dyondre lol. We will get it right."

Schlabach also passed along the following exchange that occurred three days before Kansas announced its 12-year, $191 million extension with Adidas: 

"Self responded: 'I'm happy with Adidas. Just got to get a couple real guys.'

"Gassnola replied: 'In my mind, it's KU, bill self. Everyone else fall into line. Too [expletive] bad. That's what's right for Adidas basketball. And I know I am RIGHT. The more you win, have lottery pics [sic] and you happy. That's how it should work in my mind.'"

The FBI's investigation into corruption in college basketball and this trial has dominated headlines and featured a number of marquee names and players. NBA players such as Kyle Kuzma, Markelle Fultz, Ayton and Dennis Smith Jr. have been mentioned, as have schools such as Louisville, Kansas, Oregon, Arizona and North Carolina State.

The Jayhawks are college basketball royalty with 15 Final Four appearances and three national titles and are constantly a force on the recruiting trail.

De Sousa averaged 8.8 minutes, 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks last season as they advanced to the Final Four.