LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Former University of Louisville assistant Dino Gaudio is set to be sentenced later this month after pleading guilty to attempting to extort the school when his basketball coaching contract was not renewed last spring.
He has acknowledged the crime, apologized for his actions, and is awaiting a sentence by a federal judge. It's a felony. A plea agreement with prosecutors has him facing one year of probation and a $10,000 fine. On Tuesday, Gaudio's attorney filed a memorandum in support of that agreement in the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Kentucky.
The real news of that document, however, wasn't in Guadio's request for leniency, but in his descriptions of various events during the 2020-21 basketball season.
Louisville coach Chris Mack calling a meeting of coaches after being left out of the NCAA Tournament to blast players behind closed doors. Gaudio's differences with Mack over handling COVID protocols. Gaudio's assertion that he approached the coach with concerns over NCAA violations regarding recruiting videos and using graduate assistant players in practices.
Among the many letters supporting Gaudio were character references from Kentucky coach John Calipari, Iowa coach Fran McCaffery, former Xavier coach Pete Gillen, a Major General, a Brigadier General and a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. There was a note from Mike Slazinski, the father of former Louisville player Quinn Slazinski, who called Gaudio "godsent" and wrote, "My wife had 6 months of (cancer) treatment and Dino was the only person at Louisville to help Quinn through it."
Slazinski has since transferred to Iona.
The problem with these kinds of things -- and in fact the problem with this entire story to date -- is that you only hear one side, or at least, you don't get to hear the university's version of events. U of L is not commenting because, first, this is a pending legal matter, and second, it's a pending NCAA matter. Sources have confirmed to WDRB that NCAA investigators have been on campus, conducted interviews and have viewed videos of Louisville basketball practices.
But I think it's important, in the midst of allegations flying and the usual hand-wringing over such matters, that we consider what we do know, what we don't know, and that everyone try to be fair in acknowledging that there are plenty of items in both categories.
First, we know Gaudio is guilty of extortion and will be sentenced late this month. We know that he alleged NCAA improprieties and that the school and NCAA are looking into those allegations.
We know, pretty much, what Gaudio's future looks like here.
What we don't know is what the university's NCAA exposure is, and what long-term impact this could have on the basketball program, or on Mack -- if any.
In fact, when I put together an initial list of what we don't know, it is considerable.
1). We don't know how the recording wound up with the FBI. We know Mack made a recording of Gaudio, but I really have trouble believing that Mack ever wanted that audio to find its way to law enforcement. There was nothing good that could come of it, for him or his program.
2). We don't know what was said in that conversation. I suspect we will get the contents of that audio tape, before this is all over. Gaudio's memorandum on Tuesday made reference to conversations, but we can't assume we know the entire context.
3). We don't know the circumstances of graduates being used, perhaps improperly, in practices. The NCAA relaxed some of its rules in that regard during COVID, and in fact there are some circumstances in which graduate players may be used. They can't take part in scrimmages or actively practice, but they can run drills. When it comes to NCAA allegations, these seemingly small distinctions loom large.
4). We know Mack's explanation for his staff shake-up. On May 17, Mack told reporters this:
"It's never easy. That was the first time that I let anybody go in the 12 years that I was a head coach," Mack said. "So this isn't anything that is taken lightly. They're two excellent coaches, Dino and Luke. Excellent. The honest assessment: Our program wasn't where I wanted it to be at the end of this past season. We could write down all the reasons why I think, or why you think, we didn't qualify for the NCAA Tournament. The bottom line is we didn't. That's not to say that Dino and Luke were the fall guys and it's all on them."
While the closed-door meeting is an interesting note, Mack's assessment of the team's talent level wasn't far off. A look at the destinations of the players who transferred isn't exactly a who's who of college basketball. And the head coach, undoubtedly, has the right to assemble his staff as he sees fit. Letting people go is never amicable. But Mack is far from the first to make this kind of move after a disappointing season.
5). We don't know what the alleged improper recruiting videos entailed, but if they involved traveling to the hometown of recruits to put together ESPN 30-for-30-like presentations, those could collectively represent a Level II NCAA violation, which could pose a problem for Mack, whose contract may be terminated for cause in the event of a Level II offense.
6). In short, there's a whole lot we don't know. And playing connect-the-dots is dangerous, because we aren't even close to having all the dots. Requests for an NCAA Notice of Allegations on these matters have yet to be filled, perhaps because the university has yet to receive one.
This much is certain -- while Gaudio's chapter in all this mess is likely going to close with his sentencing in a couple of weeks, the story for U of L basketball is only beginning.
My initial reaction -- that U of L and its basketball program would've been far better off if this conflict had never seen a courtroom, or the light of day -- has not changed. Mack can't comment on these matters, and that hurts him, it would hurt anyone to absorb allegations in public without being permitted to respond to them. And he can't even really discuss any of this in any way with anyone in the media. If he could, I'm betting he'd say he wished he'd never hit the record button on that conversation with Gaudio. He did it, I'm sure, to protect himself. It may wind up, in the end, that he hurt himself.
Regardless, we are left to discover the details, and the aftermath, of yet another bizarre basketball story at Louisville.
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