College basketball was rocked with a fresh batch of scandal this week with several teams involved in reports of paying players.
Arizona was named in a separate ESPN report Friday night, claiming head coach Sean Miller had discussed on the phone paying to have Ayton attend Arizona. Miller did not coach Saturday night against Oregon, but Ayton was ruled eligible, scoring 28 points with 18 rebounds in an overtime loss.
Advertisement
Boston attorney Paul Kelly, who is conducting Arizona’s internal investigation into an FBI probe, issued a statement Sunday vouching for Ayton and his eligibility.
Statement from Boston attorney Paul Kelly, who is conducting Arizona’s internal investigation into FBI probe pic.twitter.com/vuwLboSrrF
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) February 25, 2018
Both Ayton and Miller's situations remain resolved, but none of the players mentioned in the recent Yahoo Sports report claiming certain key players have received benefits have thus far been ruled ineligible.
The allegations have already had a negative effect of Arizona's recruiting class. 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.