Arizona freshman Deandre Ayton has been ruled eligible Saturday against Oregon despite allegations claiming he was paid to play for the Wildcats.
Arizona simply cannot let Miller coach under these circumstances. Period. As for Ayton, the school’s position is, “We’re not yet certain Ayton’s amateur status is really compromised. So let’s just play it out b/c if he’s ultimately ruled ineligible we’re already screwed anyway.” https://t.co/OL6mQBYHWD
— Gary Parrish (@GaryParrishCBS) February 24, 2018
An ESPN report published Friday said federal agents had intercepted a phone call between Arizona coach Sean Miller and Christian Dawkins, a runner for agent Andy Miller, in which Miller and Dawkins discussed a $100,000 payment to Ayton to get him to play at Arizona.
Miller will not coach Saturday night. Lorenzo Bomar will coach in his stead.
"Confident I will be vindicated" — Sean Miller not coaching tonight for Arizona
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) February 24, 2018
Deandre Ayton will play, Lorenzo Romar to coach https://t.co/Z7LOoif4rZ pic.twitter.com/y5RBrz9eta
College basketball was rocked this offseason by an FBI investigation, and the sport took another hit this weekend when a Yahoo.com report called out a number of big-name programs with potential violations on their hands.
For now, Arizona (22-6) will have Ayton (19.6 points, 10.9 rebounds per game) in the lineup, but the school could be facing serious violations should the tapes of Miller prove true.
