South Carolina freshman and former Louisville signee Brian Bowen told ESPN he will declare for the NBA draft in case the NCAA does not clear him to play next season for the Gamecocks.
Bowen said he does not intend to sign with an agent, in order to preserve his college eligibility.
"I just felt that it was the right decision," Bowen told ESPN on Wednesday. "My goal is still to play college basketball, but I felt as though it makes sense to cover my bases."
Bowen initially signed at Louisville and was on campus last summer, but he was suspended after news broke of his family's involvement in the FBI probe into college basketball corruption. There were allegations of a payment involving Adidas, Louisville and his father to steer Bowen toward the Cardinals. Louisville fired coach Rick Pitino and failed to seek reinstatement for Bowen with the NCAA.
Bowen has denied any knowledge or involvement of the allegations and was admitted to South Carolina in January. Coach Frank Martin and the Gamecocks filed to seek reinstatement.
"This is a mature move from Brian," Bowen's lawyer, Jason Setchen, told ESPN. "We're hopeful and have faith that the NCAA will make the right decision and allow Brian to play next season for South Carolina, but he'll also have the opportunity to be drafted if that doesn't happen."
The 6-foot-7 Bowen is a former McDonald's All American who was ranked 14th in the country by ESPN coming out of La Lumiere School in Indiana. Multiple NBA executives said they currently project Bowen as a second-round pick, but they also said it's difficult to gauge because they haven't seen him play in more than a year.
"He's a little bit of a mystery because most of us haven't seen him since the McDonald's Game practices last year," one high-ranking NBA executive told ESPN. "I think he'll be invited to the combine, and if he does, he'll have a chance to really help himself."
