CORAL GABLES, Fla. _ Days after one of their players was linked to an FBI probe into corruption in college basketball, Orlando-based travel basketball team 1 Family issued a statement on Thursday saying highly touted recruit Nassir Little did not ask for and wasn't offered money during Little's recruitment process.
"The Little family did not ask for, nor were offered money by any institution or individual," the statement posted on 1 Family's Twitter account read. "They were completely unaware of any of the alleged offenses that may have mentioned or contained their son's name. There is not one single player in our program, nor family member of any player, that had any knowledge of discussion about payments being made in regards to making a college decision. We stand by this 100 percent and will allow the truth to come out as this process unfolds."
On Aug. 9, Little _ who plays high school basketball at Orlando Christian Prep _ took to social media to announce which five colleges he was considering, including Arizona, Miami, Duke, North Carolina and Georgia Tech.
Two of those schools _ Arizona and Miami _ have been implicated in an ongoing FBI investigation into bribery and corruption in college basketball.
And according to Department of Justice documents, between July and early September, Jonathan Brad Augustine _ the former director of 1 Family _ was allegedly involved with trying to funnel approximately $150,000 to "Player-12," an unnamed basketball recruit expected to graduate in 2018.
On Tuesday, Augustine was one of 10 people _ including four college basketball assistant coaches _ charged in the FBI probe. Late Wednesday, Miami confirmed that while it is not named in any of the Department of Justice complaints filed earlier this week, the U.S. Attorney's office is investigating a potential tie between one member of the coaching staff and a recruit.
1 Family also announced via Twitter on Thursday that Augustine had stepped down as the team's program director, effective this past Tuesday.
Little has since deleted the Twitter post announcing the final five schools he was considering.
