The No. 14 Arizona men's basketball team will be without coach Sean Miller for its game at Oregon, Wildcats players have been told, according to the Arizona Daily Star.
An ESPN report published Friday night said federal agents had intercepted a phone call between Miller and Christian Dawkins, a runner for agent Andy Miller, in which Miller and Dawkins discussed a $100,000 payment to Deandre Ayton to get him to play at Arizona.
The Star's report said it wasn't clear whether Ayton would play as the first-place Wildcats try to clinch at least a tie for the Pac-12 regular-season title. Ayton is the team's leading rebounder (10.9 per game) and tied for the team lead in scoring (19.6 ppg) with Allonzo Trier, who this week was suspended for a failed PED test.
Arizona (22-6,12-3 in the Pac-12) enters the game with a 1 1/2-game lead over second-place USC, which also is engulfed in the college basketball recruiting scandal.
Arizona went through its normal pregame routine Friday in Eugene, Ore., the Daily Star reported, although as of Saturday afternoon it remained unclear if Miller or Ayton would be available for the 10:15 p.m. ET against Oregon that, interestingly, is being carried on ESPN.
The Wildcats' had their usual team dinner at the team hotel Friday in downtown Eugene and then a film session that ended at approximately 10:30 p.m. local time.
Miller and his assistants left later by a side door, avoiding a Star reporter who was seeking comment from Miller about ESPN's report.
As of mid-afternoon Saturday, Arizona officials had not responded to the Star's request for comment, and it wasn't clear whether they would have any before Saturday's game.
However, Friday's and Saturday's developments already are rippling further into the program's future.
On Saturday afternoon, Shareef O'Neal, the five-star prospect and son of Shaquille O'Neal who had committed to Arizona, announced that he was reopening his recruitment "due to the current events with the UofA Bball team."
