The Other Auburn Recruiting Scandal

A little over a month ago Cedrick McAfee of Memphis gave a verbal commitment to play basketball at Auburn. And now a month later, during the same week that the Cam Newton story broke, comes word that McAfee’s high school coach Jermaine Johnson was asking for $25,000 from schools for his commitment.

But that’s not even the worst, McAfee’s AAU basketball coach William Rhodes also claims, Johnson (head coach at Melrose High in Memphis) films himself having sex with high school girls in the schools lockerroom.

In addition to Johnson Rhodes also name NBA “agent runner” Carl Reed as his partner in crime…in the player deal, not the underage sex….and that the two were in negotations with several schools that would send McAfee to their school in exchange for $25,000 and a coaching job for Johnson at the school.

But they’re not the only people Rhodes calls out…he also says FIU’s head coach Isiah Thomas, and Iowa State’s coach knew about the deal. Plus he says several other schools from the Big 10, Big 12 and SEC sought to create a deal (here are the schools that were recruiting McAfee so you put 2-and-2 together: Auburn, Baylor, FIU, Arkansas, Cincinnati,  Miami, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Iowa State).

I guess now we know why McAfee suddenly switched his verbal from FIU, who offered him a scholarship without ever have watched him play, to Auburn this month? He must have knew Rhodes was going to blow the whistle on the little arrangement he had with them.

O, and did I mention there are audio tapes of all this at thenameisdalton.com