Attorney: Larrañaga has turned over records
CORAL GABLES — As the large-scale FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball continues nationwide, Hurricanes coach Jim Larrañaga and his staff are cooperating with authorities looking into the Miami program, Larrañaga’s attorney said late Tuesday night.
Stuart Z. Grossman, a Coral Gables attorney who is representing Larrañaga, told the Sun Sentinel the coach has turned over phone records and other documents to both school and government officials investigating the Hurricanes men’s basketball team.
Their efforts, Grossman says, will help prove that neither Larrañaga nor any member of his coaching staff knew about an alleged payoff being potentially made to a prospect Miami was recruiting.
“We are living up to our pledge to cooperate with the government and with the University of Miami from Coach Larrañaga’s point of view by giving them anything and everything they ask for, whether it’s emails, phone receipts, or any documented records that we have,” Grossman said. “And I think it’s impressive because we don’t play games. We’re very straightforward, and we believe that anyone that objectively looks at this, and we’re convinced they will, will conclude that the University of Miami, Coach Larrañaga and his assistants don’t know a thing about this conversation that took place in which a coach was named as supporting some type of payoff to a high school player.
“I’m not denying that somebody may have mentioned a coach’s name, but I’m absolutely telling you that none of our coaches were involved in that, in the conversation or in attempted bribery or anything like that.”
Federal corruption and bribery charges were filed against 10 people tied to college basketball nationwide last week, including four assistant coaches, Adidas executive Jim Gatto and youth travel basketball coach Jonathan Brad Augustine.
In the Department of Justice complaint filed against Gatto, the DOJ alleges that a “Coach-3” from “University-7” had knowledge of a plan to funnel approximately $150,000 to “Player-12,” an unnamed high school basketball recruit set to graduate in 2018 in order to secure that athlete’s verbal commitment to the “University-7.”
No Miami coaches were named in the complaint or were arrested, but school president Dr. Julio Frenk confirmed last Wednesday that the U.S. Attorney’s Office was investigating a potential tie between a recruit and a member of the coaching staff at UM, which fit the description of the unnamed “University-7” mentioned in the complaint against Gatto.
Grossman said that Larrañaga, like everyone else, learned about the allegations involving the Miami program last Tuesday. And he said the coach has been “devastated” by what has unfolded since.
Grossman said Larrañaga has spoken with his three assistant coaches — Chris Caputo, Adam Fisher and Jamal Brunt — and Grossman said the coach remains confident none of them are involved in the matter.
Grossman said he’s uncertain how long the investigation into Miami’s program will go on, but the longer it takes, the greater impact it will have on Miami’s recruiting.