You can craft your own Elite Eight out of this this whole mess. And who wouldn’t pay to watch? Selection Sunday is no longer the only major thing looming over college hoops, as Duke, North Carolina, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Texas, USC and of course, Arizona have been among the teams drawn into the fast-evolving specter of the FBI’s investigation into the corruption sewn across the sport. The naming of head coach Sean Miller and star freshman DeAndre Ayton in a matter of impermissible benefits on Saturday thrust the Arizona program dead center into an NCAA crisis that’s unfolding on an unprecedented scale.To get more basketball news, you can visit shine news official website. An ESPN report on Friday alleged that the FBI possesses wiretap evidence that Miller and Christian Dawkins, a runner working on behalf of former NBA power agent Andy Miller (no relation), had discussed an $100,000 payment to secure a commitment from Ayton, who leads the Pac-12 in scoring and rebounding and may end up the No. 1 pick in June’s NBA draft.
That news followed a series of Yahoo! Sports reports detailing payments of varying value made by Dawkins and Miller’s agency, ASM Sports, to a wide number of players and their families. You’ll recall in September, then-Wildcats assistant Emanuel ‘Book’ Richardson was one of four Division I assistants arrested for their part in a bribery scheme designed to steer players to Dawkins and ASM for their representation. Though Ayton and Miller were not named or alluded to in ASM’s financial spreadsheets, their reported involvement stands as the biggest revelation of the entire saga to date. As it stands, it’s unclear as to whether that payment was actually delivered to Ayton, or someone else on his behalf. Ayton’s family stated publicly Saturday that DeAndre told the FBI more than six months ago that he never discussed payment with Arizona, or any school or shoe company. In wake of the report, Miller agreed to stay off the sidelines for Saturday night’s game at Oregon. As things stand, the situation appears damning as it pertains to Miller’s return to the sidelines.I believe it is in the best interest of our team that I not coach the game tonight,” Miller wrote in an official statement. “I continue to fully support the university’s efforts to fully investigate this matter and am confident that I will be vindicated. For now, my thoughts are with our team. They are a great group of young men that will support each other and continue their pursuit of winning a Pac-12 championship.” Amidst everything, Arizona deemed Ayton eligible to play on Saturday. The 7’1” Bahamian center showed up in Eugene with an emotional edge on Saturday night, posting 17 points and 11 rebounds by halftime in perhaps his best performance of the season. Oregon fans taunted, held signs and chanted ‘hundred-thousand’ as Ayton rumbled to a final line of 28, 18 and four blocks, though he did not score in the final 15 minutes. Arizona staved off a 13–0 Ducks run, but were unable to hang on in overtime, falling 98–93 in a game that twisted and turned. A win would have clinched a share of a regular-season conference title. It goes without saying there’s much more to worry about.
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June 2018
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