Arizona and coach Miller respond after FBI wiretapping report
University of Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller opted not to coach his team Saturday night in the Wildcats’ game at Oregon. Now the question is if he’ll ever coach again.
Amid fallout from a bombshell ESPN on Friday that said FBI wiretaps allegedly caught Miller and an agent discussing a $100,000 payout to land top recruit Deandre Ayton, Miller said it was in the best interest of his team that he not be on the sidelines for the game.
“I believe it is in the best interest of our team that I not coach the game tonight,” Miller said in a statement Saturday afternoon. “I continue to fully support the university’s efforts to fully investigate this matter and am confident that I will be vindicated. For now, my thoughts are with our team. They are a great group of young men that will support each other and continue their pursuit of winning a Pac-12 championship.”
The Wildcats lost the game, 98-93, in overtime. Assistant coach Lorenzo Romar coached the team in Miller’s absence.
The NCAA had said earlier on Saturday that it was still investigating the ESPN report, so it was up to the university if Miller would coach or Ayton would play.
Ayton, a top NBA prospect, had an outstanding game, scoring 28 points and grabbing 18 rebounds.
A lawyer representing Ayton’s family released a statement Saturday saying it is “outraged and disgusted by the recent reported news stories which have falsely implied” Ayton and his family “have any involvement in illegal or prohibited activities regarding his decision to matriculate at the University of Arizona.”
Miller did not travel home with the team Saturday.
According to the Arizona Daily Star, the university’s board of regents held an emergency executive session on Saturday, where it received legal advice. Board chair Bill Ridenour said the board will hold more meetings in further days.
“Leadership, integrity and honor are core values to advance success and to support our student athletes,” he said. “These premiums must not be compromised.”
It’s hard to imagine Miller returning to the team this season. The FBI investigation is still ongoing, and while Miller has yet to be proven guilty, his presence would be a huge distraction, especially with the NCAA tournament less than a month away.
Some experts can’t imagine Miller ever returning to coach. ESPN’s Jay Bilas said this could be the end of his collegiate coaching career.
The wiretapping allegations are “a career-ending thing for Sean Miller. Career-ending. I can’t imagine him ever coaching in college again,” Bilas said.
Firing Miller may seem like the logical course of action, but it’s also an expensive one.
JUST IN: Sean Miller’s contract, as written, somehow pays him more for getting fired with cause than without cause. So if Miller is fired with cause, Arizona will owe him approximately $5 million more ($10.3 million versus $5.15 million) than if they fired for no reason.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) February 24, 2018
“Miller’s contract says (the university) would owe him the balance of his base salary, even if he is fired for cause,” the Daily Star reported. “Miller is under contract through the end of the 2022 season at a base salary of roughly $2.6 million per year. If fired, Miller would likely be on the hook for $300,000 in damages. His contract says the coach must pay out if he is found guilty of breaking NCAA or Pac-12 rules.”
If Miller resigns, he would owe the university $500,000, unless the two sides negotiate a settlement package.
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