The college basketball scandal that threatened to rock the sport but so far has resulted in no head coaches being held accountable is reportedly picking up steam.
Arizona head coach Sean Miller and LSU head coach Will Wade have been notified through their representatives that they will be subpoenaed to testify at the federal criminal trial involving corruption in men’s college basketball in April, a development first reported by Yahoo Sports.
Both coaches have been tied to defendants in the upcoming trial, including Christian Dawkins, a runner for NBA agent Andy Miller.
Dawkins is accused of bribing three former assistant coaches — Arizona’s Emanuel “Book” Richardson, Oklahoma State’s Lamont Evans and Southern Cal’s Tony Bland — to direct players to financial advisers, as well as the management company Dawkins was trying to form.
All three assistants accepted plea deals but could still testify in the upcoming trial.
Richardson, a Bronx native, was fired by Arizona last year. And Mark Phelps, who was also a Miller assistant at Arizona, was let go thanks to another academic scandal at the school.
The possibility of a pair of head coaches of major programs being forced to take the stand could be pivotal, since they would be under oath to tell the truth about what they know about the inner workings of the recruiting at a top-25 hoops program.
Miller and Wade, both with their teams in line for NCAA Tournament berths, are known to be on federal wiretaps talking to Dawkins. Those tapes, which may include recordings of conversations that implicate them in the scandal, could be played at the trial.
In addition to Dawkins, former Adidas consultant Merl Code also faces federal bribery charges.