Arizona and Sean Miller faces more criticism, despite no clear evidence

The drama continues in the Ole Southwest as Arizona and Sean Miller face more scrutiny in the public spotlight, despite no CLEAR evidence.

Another day has passed in the ongoing FBI/ College Basketball trial, and once again Arizona and Sean Miller faces more scrutiny amidst the various testimonies.

Growing tired yet? So are we! It seems like everyday, we crawl further and further down the rabbit hole that is the FBI Investigation, and still we are seemingly no closer to what is indeed deemed factual and what is seemingly suggestive and just hearsay.

Arizona Wildcats

So what are we up against now? Well, if you have been living under a rock, the trial picked up again on Wednesday, and this time it was former Arizona assistant coach Book Richardson’s recording that came under scrutiny.

In the June 2017 recording between Christian Dawkins and Richardson that was intercepted, here is what was discussed between the two parties:

"“Ayton is on campus. Sean’s got to get the f— out of the way and let us work”, Richardson says on the recording.“We’ll see how Sean plays it out,” Dawkins says.“You know what he bought per month?” Richardson asks Dawkins.“What (did) he do?” Dawkins says.“I told you, 10,” Richardson says.“He’s putting up some real money for them n—-s,” Dawkins says. “He told me he’s getting killed.”“But that’s his fault,” Richardson says."

Pretty damning, right? Well, not entirely.

This isn’t meant to come off as me being some kind of Arizona homer here, I (and I believe we can all agree here), think that facts matter, and sorting out the truths, the half-truths, the lies and everything in between is vital to such a high-profiled case like this.

So let’s lay out a couple STRONG pieces of misinformation that seemingly keeps getting circulated.

Myth 1: Miller discussed payment with Dawkins  to ensure star freshman Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats. –Source Mark Schlabach

• Here’s why it’s wrong: Ayton committed to Arizona in 2016. The tapped conversations between Dawkins and Arizona didn’t happen until the Summer of 2017, already months after Ayton had signed, and at that point, Ayton was on campus. The timeline doesn’t match-up to what Schlabach is claiming.

Myth 2: Miller was “Taking care of everything” according to Dawkins regarding the Ayton recruitment in his testimony last week. –Source: Dawkins himself

• Here’s why it’s not proof: Simple, there’s no receipts. Just because Dawkins says something on tape, doesn’t make it magically truthful. It’s a bold claim from a guy with a poor reputation and already questionable honesty. It’s a pretty large assumption/ insinuation without any context to the full Miller quote, and also, we must ask where is that “tapped” conversation where Miller says this.

Myth 3: What Richardson said on tape with Dawkins is proof that Miller paid Ayton –Source: Book Richardson via the recording

• Here’s why it’s also not proof: Again, a recording of two parties who aren’t the person of interest or are neither the person accused here, that’s still NOT proof.
  • Example: Let’s say I am being accused of stealing. At this point there is no PROVEN/CORROBORATING evidence against me. However, I have a close associate who actually got caught stealing and is later on tape with his accomplice, and both are discussing my perceived involvement in the matter. Again, a recording between the two parties who are neither the person they’re accusing, is not evidence, it’s hearsay. Hearsay is not enough to prove my involvement, it’s simply insinuation and suggests I’m involved, but ultimately it’s my word against others.
  • Again, where are the tapes that would prove Miller was indeed talking payment regarding Ayton.

But here’s a few important facts/ pieces of information to note, thanks to the hard work and due diligence of 247Sports editor, Jason Scheer:

• Few things: Paul Kelly, outside counsel for Arizona, has confirmed that the FBI cleared Deandre Ayton. Similar sources indicate the FBI also interviewed Rawle Alkins and Sean Miller while on campus.
• The basis for those interviews and questioning, which Arizona is aware and involved with, as is the NCAA, were the tapes being played in this trial.
• In other words, if there was any inkling that anything Book said was true, Sean Miller would not have coached another game at Arizona, Deandre Ayton and Rawle Alkins would not have played, etc.

Also, here’s an important detail to note. Based on the recording, it appears Book told Dawkins to essentially give him the money, which he then kept.

Did Alkins really get that money? Well, the FBI cleared him despite interviewing him last year.

Also, keep in mind the FBI raided Millers’ house, and nearly a year-and-a-half later, their still isn’t any surfaced recordings with Miller, and Miller hasn’t been arrested by the FBI.

Coach Miller has a hard time breaking a zone, is he suddenly going to outsmart the worlds top investigative unit? I mean seriously would they have missed anything in their investigation at this point?

If Miller really was paying players out of his own pocket, how would the FBI have missed his paper trail?

Look, rationally speaking, I’m not saying Miller is squeaky clean, or that he is without sin, but I do believe in the rule of law. I believe in a presumption of innocence, and given that the evidence “stacked” against Miller is pretty sparse, I’m just asking for more proof.

Hearsay isn’t proof. Unless we hear tapes where Miller is indeed discussing payment, then we can cross that bridge when we get there, but for now, I would like to believe he is innocent until evidence suggests otherwise.

Until then, this is all noise, and it’s getting pretty ugly amidst the vague, “click-bait-y”/ half-truth headlines.

At Zona Zealots, we’re just asking for verifiable evidence. We’ll deal with that other stuff if we need to, but for now, just wait for actual evidence. As always, Bear Down, Arizona!