NCAA can move ahead to investigate schools named in federal probe, Yahoo reports

Arizona might find out sooner if it will face NCAA sanctions as a result of the federal investigation into college basketball.

Citing unnamed sources, Yahoo reported Tuesday night that the federal government has given a nod of approval to the NCAA to begin looking into allegations raised involving several schools as a result of the investigation and initial federal trial that was completed last month.

After recommendation from the Rice Commission, the NCAA instituted a rule in August that allowed its investigators to import evidence from outside sources such as a court of law or government agency. But it was widely believed that the NCAA would wait until all three federal trials were completed before doing so; a second trial is scheduled for February and UA assistant coach Book Richardson is scheduled for trial in April along with two other former coaches.

Richardson, former UA associate head coach Joe Pasternack and the Arizona program have been named in several allegations, among them: that Adidas reps said UA offered Nassir Little $150,000, that the father of Brian Bowen testified an agent told him Pasternack offered his son $50,000, and that a former travel-ball director testified he gave a family friend of former UA star Deandre Ayton $15,000.

In the September 2017 federal complaint, investigators alleged that Richardson took a total of $20,000 to help recruit five-star guard Jahvon Quinerly, with video recorders showing Richardson taking $5,000 in cash from aspiring agent Christian Dawkins in exchange for his efforts to direct certain UA players to his agency.

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The complaint also quoted Dawkins saying a UA player on the 2017-18 Wildcats “had already been paid.” After the trial, ESPN reported that Dawkins emailed his business partner a plan to pay Rawle Alkins a total of $50,000 last season.

Stu Brown, an Atlanta-based attorney who has worked with schools facing NCAA investigations, said the information that came out of the trial involving various schools is “reasonable” enough for the NCAA staff to investigate.

“But I also think some level of credibility and corroboration is important before you take somebody’s livelihood and impugn their character,” Brown said. The NCAA will wonder “are there wiretaps, are there financial documents, are there multiple witnesses?”

Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday that records showed there were two phone calls for a total of eight minutes between Dawkins and Pasternack in May and June 2017, in a story focusing on how Dawkins made multiple phone calls during the same time with then- UCLA assistant coach David Grace. Richardson, UA coach Sean Miller and Oregon assistant coach Tony Stubblefield were also among the coaches having phone links to Dawkins.