Sean Miller said he has “done nothing wrong,” that he has “never knowingly violated NCAA rules” and that he will coach the Wildcats.
Sean Miller came out fighting Thursday afternoon, proclaiming his innocence — and in the process, announcing his continued status as Arizona’s basketball coach.
For now, anyway.
Long term, Miller’s future and that of the Arizona basketball program is uncertain. But what we got in not quite five minutes with Miller was at least riveting.
Wearing an Arizona golf shirt, the coach was quite literally backed by Arizona, or at least its logos (and the Pac-12 Conference) on the backdrop, as he read a statement and strongly denied an ESPN report from last Friday that he had been caught on an FBI wiretap discussing paying $100,000 to Deandre Ayton, a 7-1 freshman who leads the Wildcats in scoring and is a projected NBA lottery pick.
After the bombshell report, Miller did not coach the Wildcats last Saturday against Oregon. But Thursday afternoon, as he indicated his intent to immediately resume coaching, it was clear he has the school’s support. Arizona President Robert Robbins later confirmed it.
MORE: Seeds of doubt arise with ESPN report on Sean Miller
Perhaps that’s in part because of Miller’s defiance. It’s not just the statement, but the way Miller bristled as he stated it. Either he believes he’s innocent, or he believes there’s no evidence to implicate him.
Miller said he has “done nothing wrong,” that he has “never knowingly violated NCAA rules” while Arizona’s coach and that he has “never paid a recruit or prospect or their family or a representative to come to Arizona. I never have, and I never will.” Without naming ESPN, he specifically denied the report that he had talked with sports agent Christian Dawkins about paying Ayton, saying he’d “never even met or spoke” with Dawkins until after Ayton had announced he would come to Arizona.
“Any reporting to the contrary is inaccurate, false and defamatory,” Miller said. “… There was no such conversation. These statements have damaged me, my family, the university, Deandre Ayton and his incredible family. The only attempted corrections by the original source of the media statements are still inaccurate and completely false.”
The phrasing sounded a lot like the kinds of claims you make when you sue someone. ESPN, which had earlier issued a correction on the timing of the alleged phone conversation, issued a statement Thursday saying it “stands by its reporting on Miller and the FBI investigation.”
So it’s a standoff. And clearly, Arizona is all in with its defiant coach — for now, anyway.
Miller’s statement came ahead of a meeting of the Arizona Board of Regents to discuss the situation. But in the statement he thanked Arizona president Robert Robbins for support. A couple of hours later, Robbins emerged from the regents’ meeting to say Miller would remain Arizona’s coach.
And it’s possible Miller will continue to run the Wildcats’ program for years to come. But new information could emerge and the school could change its mind. Given the current situation in college basketball, would anyone really be surprised?
And whether Miller had a $100,000 conversation with Dawkins, the program remains under heavy scrutiny. Last fall Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson was arrested and charged with bribery, conspiracy and fraud charges; he was fired in January. Last week, Yahoo! Sports reported internal documents from ASM agency linked Dawkins with Richardson and Arizona assistant Joe Pasternack. There’s no way to know what happens with any of this, or what else might surface.
But for now, Miller is fighting. And he’s still coaching Arizona.
