Arizona Basketball: Emanuel “Book” Richardson accepts Plea Deal

In the ongoing FBI case, former Arizona Basketball assistant coach Emmanuel “Book” Richardson has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors.

Commonly known as “Book“, former Arizona Basketball assistant coach Emmnauel Richardson was often seen seated right next to Sean Miller for many years as they took on the grind of the college basketball season. Book was beloved by his players that he coached and mentored throughout their time in college.

If one was to ask any former Wildcat about Book, they would sing his praises about his coaching practices and the overall outstanding man that he is.

Arizona Wildcats

Just like everyone, we all make mistakes in life that causes us to take a step back in order to learn from it, grow and move on. For most of us, that mistake is only known to those who are close to us or those who we care to share it with.

Unfortunately for coach Book, Richardson and his family had their troubles announced to the world as the FBI investigation into college basketball made national media. Naturally, with the highly-polarized story, that led to many unfair accusations of him and the Arizona program.

The FBI report that spread like a wildfire, accusing Book of accepting money from a sports agent by the name of Christian Dawkins.

Now months after uncertainty and a potential trial looming, on Monday, Book had officially accepted a plea deal.

Book was accused of taking 20,000 dollars in order to push a college basketball player toward the sports agency or finance advisor.

By agreeing to this plea deal Emanuel Richardson will dodge the original sentence that could have cost him up to 60 years in jail. Instead, due to the plea deal he will only spend about 18-24 months in jail.

Potentially a huge break for Arizona, however, the Wildcats are not out of the woods just yet, as the NCAA will still have to decide what they are going to do.

After agreeing the plea deal, Book’s attorney summed it best when he said “Book Richardson has positively affected the lives of young men and encouraged them to reach their potential for 25 years”. Craig Murdock the attorney, followed that up by saying “While he will be judged for his actions in this case, this is something he did. It is not who he is”.

As Arizona fans, we know the true Emanuel “Book” Richardson and what he meant to the Arizona basketball program and its players. We will support him and his family through this tough time. As Arizona fans, we will be there to welcome you with open arms once this is all said and done.