On one hand.....it's a little hard to believe Pitino knew about the parties and condoned them. I know we hate Rick and all, but that would make him much worse a person than most people think he is. Which is why the media are giving him that benefit of doubt.
On the other hand.....you have to take into account the personality (meaning how much of a control freak are they, specifically) of each individual coach. I knew a guy that played for Denny Crum. Denny was simply very aloof. My friend said on his recruiting visit, he and his parents were hosted by Crum at his house, and of course Denny made it sound like it would be common for the player to be at Denny's house, and that he'd essentially be a second father to the player while he was in college. That was the last time he ever saw the inside of Denny Crum's house. He saw his players every day at practice - and that was it. Really no concern or interaction with his players outside of the gym. Some coaches are just that way (at least used to be). Pitino is at the complete other end of the spectrum. He is involved in every detail. There is no matter so insignificant that he doesn't care about it. As he famously said, if one of my players has a beer at 4th street live, I know about it. Complete control freak. I have no trouble believing that Denny wouldn't know about something like this. Pitino is much harder to believe. one party? Maybe. 22 (or 37 per the response?) - very hard to believe. Add to that the point Rick Bozich made in the beginning of the scandal - this started at the precise moment when Cal came on the scene and started dominating recruiting, dominating the basketball coverage in the state, started dominating the series with UofL. If anyone was every motivated to cheat, it was Louisville and RP in that context. Also - he banged a stranger on a restaurant table and sent his assistant to drive her across the state line for an abortion. Let's not pretend he's incapable of moral turpitude.