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http://texas.247sports.com/Article/Exclusive-Elite-Texas-Commit-Mo-Bambas-Longtime-Mentor-Responds—53379813
A day less than five weeks after McDonald’s All-American Mohamed Bamba announced that he was committing to the University of Texas, his estranged half-brother Ibrahim "Abe" Johnson mounted a series of public attacks via the platform of Facebook, culminating in a twenty-two minute poolside video rant against both Bamba and his long-time mentor Greer Love. In the lengthy diatribe, Johnson salaciously accuses his half-brother of committing NCAA violations with his mentor Love.
While this was the first time the general public may have been made aware of the unique relationship between the estranged brothers and long-time Bamba confidant Love, it was merely the latest example of a mounting battle between the estranged brothers. Ibrahim Johnson, who is currently facing court dates for five separate felony and misdemeanor charges in five states (FL, NY, SC, OH, and IL), was long rumored to be a figure looking to exploit his five-star half-brother’s recruitment in the grassroots, college, and professional community.
After a series of efforts made by his family to keep Ibrahim Johnson on a clear path during Bamba’s recruitment, in January of this year, Johnson was completely removed from the recruiting process, after it became apparent to the family that he was steadfast in his search for personal gain and unwilling to abide by Bamba’s wishes of a clean, NCAA-compliant recruitment.
Since then, Johnson has racked up a series of charges, including three in March: hit-and-run in Florida, forgery, falsification, petty theft, and possession of drugs in Ohio, and possession of drugs in South Carolina. After his most recent charge last week for theft in Illinois, Johnson allegedly, in an act of desperation, made several physical and verbal threats to "expose" Mohamed Bamba’s longtime mentor Greer Love, despite the fact that every compliance department of each school that Bamba visited and ultimately the NCAA Eligibility Center had cleared the duo, due to the long-standing and documented pre-existing relationship. The threats to accuse Bamba and Love of committing NCAA violations came after the duo refused to comply with Johnson’s recent demands for various impermissible benefits.
Wednesday night, Texas released the following statement to Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports, "As is usual practice by the NCAA, Mo’s amateur status was previously reviewed and final certified by the NCAA Eligibility Center. The NCAA has not informed us of any pending issues or eligibility concerns at this time regarding Mo. If there are further questions, we certainly will cooperate with the NCAA to the fullest."
Greer Love, now a vice-president at Huron Capital in Michigan, met Mohamed Bamba nine years ago, as part of a comprehensive after-school program at P.S. 208 (Alain L. Locke Elementary School) in Bamba’s native Harlem. The program, which Love founded in 2008, called "Locke’s Lions," consisted of study tables, basketball practice, and league competition. Love has supplied academic and financial support to nearly every student who was on the roster in 2008 or 2009, helping them navigate the challenging periods of middle school, high school, and often college. While the Longhorns incoming freshman may be the most well-known to date, Bamba is the only student of the substantial group to this point who has gone on to play college basketball.
Steve Tulleners, who was Mohamed Bamba’s academic advisor and associate head basketball coach at the Westtown School, said, "We fully support the understanding student-athlete and community member we have known Mohamed Bamba to be. During his time at Westtown, Mo’s family approved Greer Love as a family point-of-contact to help manage and mentor him throughout the college recruitment process."
Although Love earned an undergraduate degree at Indiana University and an MBA at the University of Michigan, the private equity investor is not a "booster" of any university. After Mo Bamba lead his PSA Cardinals to a Peach Jam Championship game, the consensus top three 2017 player and his family felt that it was imperative that the longtime family friend take over his recruitment process and manage the logistics, under the belief that Love would be able to avoid any conflicts or biases that frequently permeate modern elite-level basketball recruitments.
"When Mo asked me to guide him and help coordinate the logistics of his recruitment," Love told 247Sports, "I immediately engaged the former Chief Compliance Officer of two Big 10 / Big 12 schools, who provided frequent consultation on a variety of matters. Doing things the right way has been our top priority since day one. Mo’s got way too much to lose to take any chances on anything even remotely impermissible. With my 9-year, pre-existing relationship on the line with Mo personally, let alone his college eligibility, I took several additional measures to ensure that Mo was fully compliant every step of the way." ------
“There is no fate that cannot be surmounted by scorn.” -Albert Camus
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