Rockets second-year center Chinanu Onuaku on Wednesday said he left Louisville because of the scandals in the basketball program, but praised ousted coach Rick Pitino.
“I don’t really know what’s going on,” Onuaku said. “My school has been under investigation for a while. That’s why I left. A lot of stuff was happening. I didn’t want to get any downfall on me.”
Pitino was put on unpaid administrative leave after the Louisville program was linked to a widespread federal investigation of fraud in recruiting, the latest of several scandals involving the program. Onuaku had not heard that Pitino was no longer the coach until told by media after practice.