Louisville Basketball: Strippers And Sex On Coach's Dime, Report Says

University of Louisville basketball recruits, their guardians and current players were treated to strippers and sex from — all paid for by an assistant coach — from 2010 to 2014, an ESPN investigation published Tuesday found.

“I knew they weren’t college girls,” one recruit, who didn’t end up signing with Louisville, told ESPN.com. “It was crazy. It was like I was in a strip club.”

ESPN interviewed five recruits — some who signed with Louisville, some who didn’t — who said they attended parties at Billy Minardi Hall with strippers who danced naked and sometimes were paid to have sex with them.

Louisville won the NCAA men’s basketball championship in 2013.

“To preserve the integrity of the review process, the university will withhold comment on any details until the review is concluded,” Louisville spokesman Kenny Klein told Patch.

The allegations were first made by self-described former escort Katina Powell, whose book, “Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen” came out this month and first detailed the Vegas-bachelor-party-like culture of Louisville basketball recruiting visits.

Powell told ESPN that the strippers and sex were paid for by former graduate assistant coach Andre McGee.

Over the course of the five years, McGee arranged the parties and paid her $10,000 to supply dancers, Powell said.

That’s all in addition to some “side deals,” where McGee paid for dancers to have sex with recruits, their guardians and some current players, Powell told ESPN.

One former player told ESPN that McGee gave him $1 bills to tip the dancers.

“A bunch of us were sitting there while they danced,” another recruit told ESPN. “Then the players left, and the recruits chose which one [of the dancers] they wanted.”

Powell’s daughter, Lindsay, told ESPN that she was paid $100 to have sex with Russ Smith, a former point guard on the national championship-winning team who now plays for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.

Another one of her daughters, Rod Ni, told ESPN she was paid “maybe $100” to have sex with Montrezl Harrell, a former Cardinals forward now with the Houston Rockets.

Both players declined comment to ESPN.

• Read the full ESPN report on Louisville basketball recruiting here.