Arizona's Sean Miller, LSU's Will Wade notified they will be subpoenaed in federal corruption trial
Preliminary notifications have been sent out to representatives of both Arizona basketball coach Sean Miller and LSU basketball coach Will Wade that they will be subpoenaed for the April 22 federal basketball corruption trial, multiple sources told Yahoo Sports. These notifications are essentially a courtesy to avoid a public spectacle for the coaches, like getting served in the middle of a game or a practice.
The impending subpoenas mark a potentially dynamic development in the college basketball corruption case. It creates the potential of two high-profile head coaches testifying in federal court about the granular detail of the recruiting underworld – something that never manifested in the initial federal trial last fall. It raises thorny questions for the public universities that employ them, as both the optics of potentially testifying in federal court about basketball recruiting and potential answers that could be given under oath will be a likely cause of consternation for Arizona and LSU administrators.
Both coaches have long been known to be on federal wiretaps talking to Christian Dawkins, the former low-level agent runner who was found guilty of multiple felony fraud charges in the first basketball corruption trail in October. The impending subpoenas also increase the likelihood that those tapes would be played at trial, as defense attorneys are likely to want to walk the jury through the realities of recruiting in college basketball’s underworld.
Miller, 50, is the most prominent college basketball coach on the West Coast and has been in the thick of controversy since the investigation first became public in September of 2017. One of his assistant coaches, Emanuel “Book” Richardson, has already pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges. Another assistant coach, Mark Phelps, is also no longer with the team because of his role in an unrelated academic scandal. In early February, the university initiated the process to fire Phelps. A third former Miller assistant, UC Santa Barbara coach Joe Pasternack, was portrayed by Dawkins in emails as a conduit for ASM Sports agency, which employed Dawkins, to Arizona players.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/ncaabk/sources-arizonas-sean-miller-lsus-will-wade-notified-they-will-be-subpoenaed-in-federal-hoops-corruption-trial/ar-BBU45XK?li=BBnba9I
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