Arizona men’s basketball head coach Sean Miller was notified by attorneys of the two remaining defendants in the federal trial into college basketball corruption that he will be subpoenaed to potentially testify at the April trial in New York, according to Yahoo Sports.
Miller, along with LSU coach Will Wade, each had notices sent to their representatives about testifying in the April 22 trial involving corruption in college basketball. Evidence from a criminal trial in October claimed both men had dealings with Christian Dawkins, formerly a runner for NBA agent Andy Miller. Dawkins was found guilty of multiple felony fraud charges in October.
Dawkins and former Adidas consultant Merl Code both face federal bribery charges in April as well. Both Miller and Wade have maintained they did not conduct any business with Dawkins, with Miller denying an ESPN report last year alleging he discussed paying $100,000 to secure the commitment of former UA player Deandre Ayton.
The subpoenas increase the likelihood federal wiretaps of both coaches will be played in court and potentially admitted into evidence, if allowed by a judge.
Miller has been dealing with allegations involving a pay-for-play scheme since an ESPN report last year came out regarding the wiretaps. Miller has denied any involvement in the scheme, declining comment on multiple occasions throughout the season.
“I have never knowingly violated NCAA rules while serving as head coach of this great program. I have never paid a recruit or prospect, or their family or representative, to come to Arizona. I never have, and I never will,” Miller said March 1, 2018.
Three of Miller’s assistants have also come under the NCAA microscope, with Emanuel “Book” Richardson and Joe Pasternack being connected to Dawkins and the FBI investigation and Mark Phelps being involved in an NCAA violation involving fraudulent academic transcripts. Richardson accepted a plea agreement in January, while Phelps is on administrative leave with the UA, beginning the “process to terminate.” Pasternack is currently in his second season as the head coach at UC Santa Barbara.
Arizona has been supportive of Miller, with athletic director Dave Heeke holding a media session at halftime of the Wildcats loss earlier this month against Washington State to back the coach.
“We’re fully supportive of the coaching staff, the leadership of the basketball program,” Heeke said. “We’re supporting, as I have said before, we support Coach Miller. Those things that have been said to the contrary to that are not true.”
Miller will hold his weekly press conference Tuesday at 12 p.m., although it is unlikely he will comment on any of the ongoing investigations.
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