Arizona Coach Sean Miller will not be with the team Saturday night in Eugene. (Ralph Freso/Associated Press)
Arizona’s Sean Miller will not coach the team Saturday night against Oregon, as college basketball continues to reel from Friday’s bombshell reports by ESPN and Yahoo Sports on a federal investigation into corruption in the sport. Associate head coach Lorenzo Romar will coach in Miller’s place Saturday.
“I believe it is the best interest of our team that I not coach the game tonight. I continue to fully support the university’s efforts to fully investigate this matter and am confident that I will be vindicated,” Miller said in a statement released by the school Saturday afternoon. “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.”
Miller, it was reported by ESPN on Friday, was captured on an FBI telephone wiretap discussing a $100,000 bribe to ensure star recruit Deandre Ayton signed with Arizona. That story was published hours after Yahoo had reported on hundreds of documents suggesting current and former players at more than 20 Division I schools, including Arizona, had received impermissible benefits.
Ayton is eligible to play Saturday, Arizona said in a statement Saturday.
During ESPN’s “College Gameday” on Saturday, analyst Jay Bilas, a former player, called the ESPN report “a career-ending thing for Sean Miller. Career-ending. I can’t imagine him ever coaching in college again.” He also suggested Arizona put Miller on administrative leave until the investigation has been completed.
Fellow analyst Seth Greenberg, the former head coach at Virginia Tech, echoed Bilas, saying Miller “will not coach another game at Arizona, Deandre Ayton will not play another game at Arizona, and the games that he did play will be forfeited, and Arizona will not play in the NCAA tournament.”
NCAA President Mark Emmert said Saturday in an interview with CBS that it was the school’s decision regarding coach and player named in the ESPN story. Emmert added that the NCAA has been in touch with every school named in the report and is looking into potential eligibility issues, which Emmert hopes will be resolved by Selection Sunday on March 11.
Should Miller be fired, he stands to make a hefty sum from Arizona. As reported by ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Miller will be owed $5.15 million should be let go without a reason — and, in a bizarre twist, $10.3 million if he is fired for cause, which federal crimes typically constitute.
JUST IN: Sean Miller’s contract, as written, somehow pays him more for getting fired with cause than without cause. So if Miller is fired with cause, Arizona will owe him approximately $5 million more ($10.3 million versus $5.15 million) than if they fired for no reason.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 24, 2018
Miller has been the head coach at Arizona since 2009 and has led the program to four regular season and two tournament championships in the Pac-12, as well as three Elite Eight appearances. He was named Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2011, 2014 and 2017, and the Wildcats currently sit atop the conference at 12-3 (22-6 overall).
As of Saturday, Miller is the only person named in Friday’s reports who is sitting out a game. Michigan State released a statement that said star player Miles Bridges had been cleared by the NCAA; Alabama’s Collin Sexton participated in his team’s Saturday shoot-around; and Duke’s Wendell Carter was also cleared by an internal investigation by the school. Kentucky, which was also named in the Yahoo report, said it conducted a review and found no eligibility issues or rules violations of any current student-athletes or staff.
While details continue to emerge, at least one high-profile recruit has made a decision based on the allegations in the reports. Shaquille O’Neal’s son, Shareef, announced his decommitment from Arizona on Saturday.
I wanted to send a personal thank you to coach miller , coach romar , coach phelps , and all the Arizona staff and fans for all the support they’ve shown my family and I.
— Shareef O’Neal (@SSJreef) February 24, 2018
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