Arizona sticks with Miller despite allegations

An emotionally charged Thursday in Tucson ended with Arizona coach Sean Miller back on the job and a share of another Pac-12 championship for the Wildcats.

In a hastily called afternoon news conference, Miller vehemently denied a report claiming he discussed a six-figure payment to a recruit. Less than three hours later, the school president announced Miller would remain as coach. And then the Wildcats beat Stanford 75-67 in front of a home crowd.

“We have no reason to believe Miller violated NCAA rules or the law,” university President Robert C. Robbins said after an Arizona Board of Regents meeting. “We will continue to pursue every avenue of inquiry available to us during this active federal investigation to fully understand the facts.”

After a one-game absence, Miller was back on the sideline. The McKale Center crowd stood and cheered as Miller entered the arena before the national anthem. He waved to the fans as his players smiled and clapped.

ESPN reported Feb. 23, using anonymous sources, that the FBI had Miller on a wiretap discussing a $100,000 payment to Wildcats freshman Deandre Ayton to attend the school.

Miller made a statement to the media inside the McKale Center on Thursday, denying the report and saying he looked forward to shifting his focus back to basketball.

“There was no such conversation,” Miller said. “These statements have damaged me, my family, the university, Deandre Ayton and his incredible family.”

Robbins said he and athletic director Dave Heeke decided to keep Miller on after having face-to-face discussions with the coach and going over investigations conducted by the school and federal authorities.

“Coach Miller is our coach,” Robbins said. “He has a contract and we’ll be moving forward.”

In its report, ESPN said Miller was caught on the FBI wiretap discussing the payment for Ayton with Christian Dawkins, a runner for ex-NBA agent Andy Miller.

Ayton and his family denied receiving any money from Dawkins and Miller issued a statement last Saturday saying he was confident he would be vindicated. He took it a step further on Thursday.

“I cannot remain silent on media reports that have impugned the reputation of me, the university and sullied the name of a tremendous young man, Deandre Ayton,” Miller said. “Let me be very, very clear: I have never discussed with Christian Dawkins paying Deandre Ayton to attend the University of Arizona. In fact, I never spoke to or met Christian Dawkins until after Deandre publicly announced he was coming to our school. Any reporting to the contrary is inaccurate, false and defamatory. I’m outraged by the media statements that have been made and the acceptance by many that these statements were true.”

ESPN said its stands by its reporting on Miller and the FBI investigation.