Big East Basketball schools are not immune from the FBI investigation
Multiple players from Big East basketball schools were referenced in the leaked financial statements from ASM Sports. Which players were referenced and how will this affect the remainder of this season?
The Big East was not immune from this round of the FBI Probe. Xavier, Villanova, and Creighton were all mentioned in Yahoo’s report, but Seton Hall looks to be in the stickiest situation. The documents show that former Seton Hall star Isaiah Whitehead was given $26,136 as a freshman ($37,657 in total) to sign with ASM.
Whitehead was a key cog in Seton Hall’s massive program revival and was the best player on their 2016 Big East Tournament Champion squad. We do not know how the NCAA will handle these FBI findings, but it would not be crazy to think that the Pirates would have to vacate wins from Whitehead’s two seasons on the team.
Former Xavier point guard Edmond Sumner was also mentioned in the report. He, or his father, received $7,000 while in school. Sumner averaged 15ppg in 21 games last season before suffering a season-ending injury. Xavier reached the Elite Eight last season and the second round in Sumner’s freshman season. Sumner did not play in last season’s NCAA Tournament so it is unclear how the NCAA will approach this situation.
Villanova is mentioned towards the end of the article, but no specific players are referenced. Christian Dawkins had dinners with “Villanova coaches” which as long as no money changed hands, this does not seem to be against the rules. The Wildcats will seemingly escape unscathed.
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Lastly, Creighton’s former star center Justin Patton was mentioned in the report. According to the documents, he and his family had dinner with Dawkins, which would only be a violation if Dawkins paid for the meal. I would not worry too much if I were a Creighton fan.
Xavier Coach Chris Mack was the only coach to give a statement about the report. He said the following quote to Yahoo:
"“I have no relationship with Andy Miller or any of his associates. He plays no role in the recruitment of potential student athletes on Xavier’s behalf. Beyond that, our staff has never created a path for him to foster a relationship with any of our student-athletes while enrolled at Xavier. Any suggestion that I or anyone on my staff utilized Andy Miller to provide even the slightest of financial benefits to a Xavier student-athlete is grossly misinformed. We are prepared to cooperate with any and all investigations at any level.”"
Given the evidence in the Yahoo article, all four coaches have legitimate plausible deniability. They can easily claim that they had no knowledge of these meetings and transactions with players. Unlike the programs who were mentioned in the fall, there are no wiretaps or publicized recorded phone calls linking a coach to the monetary transaction.
None of the referenced players are currently in school, which should make these Big East programs breathe a little easier about potential 2017-18 season penalties. Programs like Duke, Alabama, Kentucky, USC, Texas, and Michigan State should be more worried since Wendell Carter, Collin Sexton, Kevin Knox, Chimezie Metu, Bennie Boatwright, Eric Davis, and Miles Bridges are currently in school.
Out of the Big East schools, Seton Hall should be the most concerned, but I can’t see them facing a bigger penalty than vacating wins. It does not help that Seton Hall is not a common destination for five-star recruits and now impermissible benefits have been linked to their former star.
I do not expect major ramifications to Big East schools based on the information from the Yahoo article. Expect all four of these teams to participate in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.