- A new report suggests that more Hall of Fame coaches and top-tier college basketball programs could be affected by the ongoing FBI probe into corruption within the sport.
- Last year, 10 people were arrested on charges of fraud and corruption, including assistant coaches and managers.
- The new report described the potential fallout of the investigation “substantial and relentless.”
Last year, an FBI probe into the world of NCAA basketball led to the arrests of 10 people on charges of fraud and corruption within the sport, ranging from assistant coaches to financial advisers and an Adidas executive.
While top-tier coaching names were absent from the arrests, the scandal did cost Louisville head coach Rick Pitino his job. Pitino had spent 17 seasons with the Cardinals, and was one of the winningest active coaches in college basketball at the time.
The media buzz surrounding the case had settled down for some time, but now a new report from Pete Thamel at Yahoo Sports suggests that more dominoes in the head coaching world may be soon to fall and some of the nation’s biggest programs could soon feel the wrath of the NCAA.
Sources familiar with the material obtained in the case reportedly described the potential fallout of the investigation to Yahoo as “substantial and relentless.” Materials reportedly collected include “4,000 intercepted calls and thousands of documents and bank records obtained from raids and confiscated computers, including those from notorious NBA agent Andy Miller.”
One anonymous source suggested to Thamel that the case could very well bring down many more well known coaches, and have repercussions felt across numerous powerhouse programs.
“This goes a lot deeper in college basketball than four corrupt assistant coaches,” said a source who has been briefed on the details of the case. “When this all comes out, Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams the NCAA showed on its initial NCAA tournament show this weekend should worry about their appearance being vacated.”
Teams shown on the initial NCAA tournament show that the source alludes to included the likes of perennial tournament favorites including Duke, North Carolina, Michigan State, Ohio State, Villanova, and more.
A recent report from ESPN also suggested that the probe could potentially reveal corruption amongst the biggest schools in college basketball.
“It’s not the mid-major programs who were trying to buy players to get to the top,” a source told ESPN. “It’s the teams that are already there.”
There’s no telling how soon we may learn which teams the case involves, but depending on when it happens and the degree to which programs are exposed, it’s possible that the top of the college basketball world will be drastically changed.
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