Oct 05, 2015 05:16 PM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Rick Pitino outright denied he or anyone on the Louisville Cardinals men's basketball roster, coaching staff, or training staff knew of an escort service allegedly provided to recruits.

Speaking with ESPN on Monday, Pitino also said the University of Louisville (UL) is collaborating with attorney named Chuck Smrt, who works for a firm called The Compliance Group (TCG), on an investigation. Pitino said the school has been in contact with the NCAA, as TCG primarily advises its clients on policy compliance.

"Not myself, not one player, not one trainer, not one assistant, not one person knew anything about any of this," Pitino told ESPN. "If anyone did, it would have been stopped on a dime. Not one person knew anything about it."

Katrina Powell released a book late last week titled "Breaking Cardinal Rules: Basketball and the Escort Queen." In her book, written with investigative journalist Dick Cady, Powell claimed a former UL men's basketball administrator named Andre McGee threw parties for recruits and invited strippers and escorts.

One of the sex workers herself, Powell claims to have first-hand knowledge of and experience at these parties, stating she and other women were hired specifically to have sex with men's basketball recruits. She also claimed Pitino was fully aware McGee was organizing these parties.

"When I would ask Andre, 'Does Pitino know about this?' he would laugh and say, 'Rick knows about everything,'" Powell told IBJ.com, a website the book's publisher, IBJ Book Publishing LLC, owns as a subsidiary.

IBJ.com also released a length piece on its website detailing the process of putting together Powell's book. You can read it here.

The most recent NCAA Division I men's basketball coaches to be charged with "failure to monitor" impermissible activity on their teams was Syracuse's Jim Boeheim and SMU's Larry Brown, ESPN noted. Both will be suspended for multiple games next year, pending appeals.

Jon Duncan, the NCAA's vice president of enforcement, told ESPN.com the investigation of the UL case is different from the previous two in one key way because the allegations became public before the investigation started.

"Backing up from the legalese, these cases are a big deal," he said, unable to discuss specifics. "They have real implications for the institutions and the individuals involved and the student-athletes. We are very careful when we analyze any potential allegation that we can support it fully."

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