The FBI has identified players from more than 20 Division I men’s basketball programs breaking NCAA violations, according to documents by Yahoo! Sports.
The schools that were identified in the violations are Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, Southern California, Kansas, South Carolina, Louisville, Utah, Xavier, Wichita State, Clemson, and Alabama. The documents obtained showed detailed evidence involving former NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency, ASM Sports. The papers showed cash advances and travel expenses that were paid for prospective NCAA athletes and their families.
The FBI has been investigating college basketball for two years looking for bribes and any corruption and looks like they found it. The investigation apparently includes more than 4,000 wiretaps, financial records, and emails that were taken from Miller’s office. Within all that was obtained many players and coaches could be compromised. Many programs could face some sanctions upon release of the FBI’s information.
Reports have begun to show notable teams and players involved in this. Currently, at least six players received payments over $10,000 such as Dennis Smith, Jr., Isaiah Whitehead and Markelle Fultz.
According to Yahoo! Sports, here are some of the players and largest listed loans based off the ASM loan sheet the FBI obtained:
Dennis Smith, who would go on to play at North Carolina State in 2016-17, received $43,500 according to the documents. Another document headed “Pina,” for ASM agent Stephen Pina, says Smith received a total of $73,500 in loans, and includes notes about “options to recoup the money” when Smith did not sign with ASM.
Isaiah Whitehead, at the time a freshman at Seton Hall, received $26,136 according to the documents. The “Pina” document says Whitehead received $37,657 and was “setting up payment plan.” Whitehead signed with ASM but later left the agency for Roc Nation.
Tim Quarterman, at the time a junior at LSU, received at least $16,000 according to the balance sheet.
Diamond Stone, at the time a freshman at Maryland, received $14,303 according to the documents.
A listing that refers to “BAM” for $12,000 is later identified in the documents as Edrice “Bam” Adebayo, who would go on to play at Kentucky in 2016-17. He did not sign with ASM. There’s a later reference to Adebayo that says he received $36,500. “Bad loan,” reads the document.
Markelle Fultz, who would go on to play at Washington and become the No. 1 pick in the 2017 draft, received $10,000 according to the documents. He did not sign with ASM.
NCAA president Mark Emmert made a statement in reference to the allegations.
“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America. Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules,” the statement read. “Following the Southern District of New York’s indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it’s clear this work is more important now than ever. The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts.”
