Arizona & NCAA Scramble For Answers As FBI investigation Deepens | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Sports

Arizona & NCAA Scramble For Answers As FBI investigation Deepens

Head Coach Fired Amid Bribing Allegations

88
Arizona & NCAA Scramble For Answers As FBI investigation Deepens
Youtube

The Wildcats are under fire. This investigation comes right before March Madness, the 2018 NCAA tournament. The scandal reaches far and wide, including coaches, sports agents, shoe companies, AAU circuits, the players and even their families.

It all started in September of last year when Louisville coach Rick Pitino was fired. An FBI investigation and various federal documents reveal that Adidas had funneled around $100,000 to 5 star forward Brian Bowen, at the request of Pitino. Bowen denies having any knowledge of the payment and has since de-committed from Louisville and has instead opted to sign with the smaller South Carolina Gamecocks.

The federal government originally charged 10 people with various crimes, including mass corruption, bribery, and wire fraud. All have been linked by the FBI in some way to many of the top 11 college basketball programs in the country, including No. 1 Virginia and No. 2 Michigan State.

Fast forward to 2018, the FBI’s new investigation star Arizona head coach Sean Miller and ESPN’s #1 center DeAndre Ayton. Miller was allegedly caught using wiretaps to broker a deal involving Ayton’s commitment to Arizona. There are two questions surrounding Miller that I keep going back to:

  • Why would the head coach of Arizona handle the dirty business himself and not have an assistant serve as his fall guy?
  • If the FBI had stone-cold proof that Miller offered a $100,000 bribe to land a five-star recruit, why wasn’t Miller arrested along with the rest of the guys whom the FBI arrested in September?

Arizona is no stranger to controversy and corruption. In October of last year, five-star point guard Jahvon Quinerly de-committed from Arizona and hired a lawyer amid FBI investigations.

Quinerly later ended up committing to Villanova three weeks ago. Five-star power forward Shareef O’ Neal (son of Hall of Famer Shaq) stepped away from the Wildcats just last week and verbally committed to their Division I rival, UCLA.


As news trickles out about college basketball recruiting tactics that are possibly eligibility violations but are not necessarily crimes, it's worth remembering the FBI should have better things to do than honor the NCAA's ignoble cause.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Gilmore Girls
Hypable

In honor of Mother’s Day, I have been thinking of all the things my mom does for my family and me. Although I couldn’t write nearly all of them, here are a few things that moms do for us.

They find that shirt that’s right in front of you, but just you can’t seem to find.

Keep Reading...Show less
Relationships

10 Reasons To Thank Your Best Friend

Take the time to thank that one friend in your life you will never let go of.

2257
Thank You on wooden blocks

1. Thank you for being the one I can always count on to be honest.

A true friend will tell you if the shirt is ugly, or at least ask to borrow it and "accidentally" burn it.

2. Thank you for accepting me for who I am.

A best friend will love you regardless of the stale french fries you left on the floor of your car, or when you had lice in 8th grade and no one wanted to talk to you.

Keep Reading...Show less
sick student
StableDiffusion

Everybody gets sick once in a while, but getting sick while in college is the absolute worst. You're away from home and your mom who can take care of you and all you really want to do is just be in your own bed. You feel like you will have never-ending classwork to catch up on if you miss class, so you end up going sick and then it just takes longer to get better. Being sick in college is really tough and definitely not a fun experience. Here are the 15 stages that everyone ends up going through when they are sick at college.

Keep Reading...Show less
kid
Janko Ferlic
Do as I say, not as I do.

Your eyes widen in horror as you stare at your phone. Beads of sweat begin to saturate your palm as your fingers tremble in fear. The illuminated screen reads, "Missed Call: Mom."

Growing up with strict parents, you learn that a few things go unsaid. Manners are everything. Never talk back. Do as you're told without question. Most importantly, you develop a system and catch on to these quirks that strict parents have so that you can play their game and do what you want.

Keep Reading...Show less
friends
tv.com

"Friends" maybe didn’t have everything right or realistic all the time, but they did have enough episodes to create countless reaction GIFs and enough awesomeness to create, well, the legacy they did. Something else that is timeless, a little rough, but memorable? Living away from the comforts of home. Whether you have an apartment, a dorm, your first house, or some sort of residence that is not the house you grew up in, I’m sure you can relate to most of these!

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments