Wednesday Schadenfreude: Brandon Bender Says He'll Spill His Guts About Rick Pitino

You can find the story over at AllKyHoops.com. You can also check out this post at Card Chronicle (be sure to read and enjoy all the comments).

For my part, I can't imagine anything that could be revealed about Rick Pitino that would surprise me in the least after his 15 seconds of infamy at Porcini's a few years back, but who knows? Perhaps Bender will provide allegations of all sorts of NCAA lawlessness as he seems to suggest to Anthony Wireman in the article above.

Anyway, Brandon Bender seems to be on some kind of revenge tour against Pitino and Forde, but I think this is aimed more at Forde than anyone else, since Forde and Pete Thamel of the New York Times released a series of articles tying Bender to Kenneth Caldwell, a so-called "runner" who was said to have been inserting himself into the recruitment of Kevin Ware at the University of Central Florida in violation of NCAA rules.

In fact, Forde tried to tie Bender to Enes Kanter's recruitment (you know Forde -- he's gotta cast some suspicion on UK at any cost, truth be damned), an allegation which Bender flatly denies:

Obviously, there were some pretty strong allegations and references made in those articles. How do you respond to what was written?

I think was it damn foolish because they went with assumptions and no proof. Then, they said I was shopping Enes Kanter to SEC schools. I don't even know Enes Kanter. I saw him one time in my life.

I also think it was lame to bring up Ken Caldwell's past...things that happened 20 years ago.[emphasis mine]

After reading Bender's comments, it's impossible to imagine we won't see some articles, possibly even from the Thamel/Forde stable, connecting Bender to John Calipari with the implication that Bender is "coming clean" at the behest of Don Cal and the UK La Cosa Nostra. That ought to be lots of fun to comment on, and I can hardly wait. In fact, I'll be disappointed if they don't materialize.

Truthfully, though, I doubt anything of great value will come from Bender, and his credibility will understandably be questioned because he clearly seems to have an axe to grind with Louisville and Rick Pitino, as well as Forde. That's a first-blush perception, though, and not a fact -- I really don't know what he will say, or if anyone will even attempt to prove the veracity of the comments. After all, Pitino is not Calipari, and FForde has a vested, financial stake in ensuring that Pitino stays as clean as possible.

This affair should be nothing if not entertaining, and since there is no college basketball or football right now, I am all about being entertained.

Wednesday Schadenfreude: Brandon Bender Says He'll Spill His Guts About Rick Pitino
by Glenn Logan on May 25, 2011 9:12 AM EDT in Kentucky Wildcats Basketball
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