The No. 14 Arizona men's basketball team went through its normal pregame routine Friday in Eugene, Ore., the Arizona Daily Star reported, although as of Saturday morning it remained unclear if coach Sean Miller or star player Deandre Ayton would be available for the first-place Wildcats' 10:15 p.m. ET Pac-12 game against Oregon.
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 Ayton to get him to play at Arizona.
According to the Daily Star, the Wildcats' had their usual team dinner at the team hotel 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-morning 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 that, interestingly, is being carried on ESPN.
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. 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.
