Louisville basketball recruiting suffered its first casualties in the face of the program's latest scandal.
Two Class of 2018 recruits — five-star shooting guard Anfernee Simons and four-star point guard Courtney Ramey — announced their decommitment from the Cardinals on Wednesday after it was announced coach Rick Pitino was fired from the program.
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Simons broke the news on Twitter:
THANK YOU LOUISVILLE #L1C4 pic.twitter.com/UQSRWa7OHK
— Anfernee Simons (@AnferneeSimons) September 27, 2017
Ramey's father, Terrell Ramey, told Scout.com. He cited Pitino's firing as the reason for his son reopening his recruitment.
"We are going to reopen it," Terrell Ramey, Courtney's father, said. "We aren't excited about it, but it's something we have to do.
"It's a grinding process and I want my son to enjoy his senior season without the pressure," Terrell Ramey said. "We were all set to go to Louisville and play for Coach (Pitino) and play in the ACC. We thought it was a perfect fit, but due to the circumstances we are going to open it."
Louisville, of course, parted ways with Pitino after one of his assistants was alleged to have approached an executive from Adidas to bribe Class of 2017 five-star recruit Brian Bowen to play for the Cardinals. Bowen has since been suspended.