Possible Tie Between ASM Sports & Former Convict

Choose to play basketball at the University of Central Florida (UCF) over offers from Georgia, Louisville, and UCLA, and you are sure to attract attention.  That is exactly what happened when the talented Kevin Ware picked UCF over these historically much stronger basketball programs.  Unfortunately for UCF, it also made outsiders focus on the institution and how it was able to attain such a talented individual.

As Pete Thamel of The New York Times reports, UCF was aided by a man named Kenneth Caldwell, who has a criminal record and may be tied to ASM Sports.  Caldwell denies the affiliation to ASM Sports, but had listed ASM Sports as an employer on his LinkedIN page, where it said that he was a recruiter of potential NBA players.  Further, Thamel points out that a former associate of ASM Sports claimed that Caldwell works for the company.

ASM Sports’ client list includes Rudy Fernandez, Daniel Gibson, Serge Ibaka,Chauncey Billups, Marreese Speights, Kevin Garnett, J.J. Hickson, and Andre Miller.  They all are primary clients of founder, Andy Miller.  Along with Miller, Justin Zanik and Andrew Vye hold down the fort at ASM.  Miller has denied any relationship with Caldwell.  Zanik admits to having a relationship with Caldwell, but denied Caldwell being employed by his company.

Who is telling the truth?

This line from Thamel’s piece really sticks out:

[Caldwell] denies being a runner, but said if he were he would be “the best in the country, and you could not stop me.”