By SEAN BOCK
Arizona head coach Sean Miller will not coach in Saturday night’s game at Oregon, but freshman big man Deandre Ayton is eligible to play.
An ESPN story released Friday says the FBI has wiretapped conversations of Miller discussing a $100,000 payment to Ayton, the 7-foot-1 Bahamian native who is in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Assistant coach Lorenzo Romar the former head man at Washington, will take over head coaching duties for the game.
“I believe it is in the best interest of our team that I not coach the game tonight,” Miller said in a statement. “I continue to fully support the University’s efforts to fully investigate this matter and am confident that I will be vindicated. 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. ”
Agree with columnist @ghansen711 that Sean Miller must not be on the sidelne for @APlayersProgram ! I am so surprised as I was under the belief he did things the right way / give me a BIG TURNOVER Baby ! https://t.co/MLylrzB9Hi
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) February 24, 2018
Miller could still walk away from Arizona with more than $10 million despite allegedly being willing to pay $100,000 for Ayton.
“Sean Miller should not coach tonight’s basketball game,” ESPN’s Seth Greenberg said this morning on College Gameday. “He should be put on administrative leave. I’d be shocked if Ayton played another college basketball game.”
Arizona is currently a projected No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament, per ESPN’s Joe Lunardi. Arizona has yet to issue any official comment on the latest Miller news.
