There are two different parts to this story:

First part is that assistant coaches were getting bribed by the money managers to push players to those companies when they were turning pro. It wasn't necessarily the coaches dealing with the shoe companies.

Second part is that the shoe companies bribed money managers to get players to some of the schools but it was primarily to get the players when they turned pro to sign with Adidas.

The confusion is coming mostly because the money managers basically used Adidas money to pay the players and their families to go to the school that they bribed.