Louisville coach Rick Pitino would like to eliminate the influence

Louisville coach Rick Pitino would like to eliminate the influence of athletic shoe companies in the recruiting process. Pitino ended a news conference Thursday railing against a system he believes is often driven by shoe companies such as Nike and even adidas sponsoring AAU programs.

 The 62-year-old Pitino believes the relationship between shoe companies and AAU programs has become problematic in recent years. ''What I personally don't like (is) I can't recruit a kid because he wears Nike on the AAU circuit,'' Pitino said. ''I had never heard of such a thing and it's happening in our world. Or, he's on the adidas circuit, so the Nike schools don't want him.'' The coach added that it is a very tough situation to address ''because our pockets are lined with their money.''