Former Arizona assistant basketball coach Book Richardson said he broke NCAA rules on βseveral occasionsβ by providing impermissible benefits to UA targets during unofficial recruiting visits, actions that are not included in the schoolβs still-pending NCAA infractions case, during an interview with The Athletic that was published Wednesday.
However, Richardson said one allegation leveled by the NCAA against Arizona β that he paid $40,000 to obtain fraudulent academic credits for a player β never happened. Richardson also said former UA coach Sean Miller did not pay money to former Wildcats star Deandre Ayton.
Richardson declined to tell The Athletic which players or families received impermissible benefits during unofficial visits, which can not be paid for by the school or coaches under NCAA rules, and said the player himself often did not know. Richardson said he paid for the expenses himself.
βIf someone came on campus and they were hungry, yeah,β Richardson told The Athletic. βAm I going to put some gas in your tank? Iβm going to fill you up. You need a hotel room? I got it. Iβll take care of your airline tickets. Is that illegal (with regard to NCAA rules)? One hundred percent, itβs illegal. And I own that.β
In the NCAAβs Notice of Allegations released in March 2021, Richardson was named in two Level I charges: One for taking $20,000 from aspiring agent Christian Dawkins in exchange for steering UA players toward Dawkinsβ agency for professional representation, and another for paying $40,000 to obtain fraudulent academic credit to ensure a player would be eligible.
Richardson denied Ayton was paid, even after federal prosecutors played a wiretapped phone call during a May 2019 trial in which Richardson told Dawkins that Miller had βboughtβ Ayton by paying $10,000 a month.
The Athletic wrote that while Richardson admitted it was his voice on the tapes, βhe insists the payments never happenedβ β with Richardson noting that the FBI did not produce evidence during trial that they did.
Richardson told federal agents he planned to take Dawkinsβ $20,000 and give it to the mother of UA recruiting target Jahvon Quinerly. He told The Athletic, however, that he actually spent some on a trip to Spain with his wife and planned to spend some to pay for Quinerly and his family to make an unofficial trip to Arizona before he was arrested in September 2017.
Having touched on other issues in his life since his 2017 arrest in his podcast and other interviews since leaving Arizona, Richardson recounted to The Athletic details such as his three-month 2019 stint in a federal prison, the suicidal thoughts he had after being released and an awkward greeting with Miller at a 2019 club-ball event.
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β’ Former UA guard Dalen Terry worked out Wednesday for the Portland Trail Blazers, along with Shaedon Sharpe of Kentucky, Jeremy Sochan of Baylor, Jordan Hall of Saint Josephβs, John Butler of Florida State and Jamaree Bouyea of San Francisco. The Blazers hold picks No. 7, 36 and 57 in the June 23 NBA Draft.
β’ The Section 7 regional high school showcase will open Thursday at Glendaleβs State Farm Stadium, with 229 teams from 12 states playing through Sunday. College coaches will not be allowed to attend until the recruiting evaluation window opens at noon Friday. Several UA recruiting targets are expected to play, including Fountain Valley, California forward Carter Bryant, the first Class of 2024 player to receive a UA scholarship offer.
