I don't think it has anything to do with Pitino, or any other coach, complaining because they have lost a recruit. For every recruit a school like Louisville loses to Nike, they gain one from Adidas. UC has seen this first hand. Obekpa was Nike, and where did he go? Lawrence was Adidas, and where did he go? Now that certainly can be a coincidence, but I think the Nike vs Adidas is a real thing in determining where a high school athlete commits.
The point Pitino is making is that money is continually playing a major factor is the decision of these kids. Because Adidas is lining the pockets of School X, and Nike is doing the same for School Y, it's in the best interest of the companies to direct the higher profile recruits to their sponsored schools. Highly unfair to who? The kids yet again! The amount of pressure is ridiculous. That's not to say a Nike kid can't attend an Adidas school, but the the pressure is certainly there. Didn't that just happen last month to a high profile recruit? Forget who it was, but he backed out of his verbal and re-opened his recruitment. Signs pointed heavily to Nike being involved.
This all goes back to everyone making money off the kids and "student-athletes," yet the kids are punished when they sell an autograph for max of $25. $25 compared to the multi-million dollar deals flying around every college campus is just laughable.
Money greatly influences every aspect of college athletics including the recruitment, and if you don't believe that, then you are just way too naive.
