Report: Top players, schools part of federal college basketball probe

Some of the most prominent players and programs in college basketball have been linked to the ongoing federal investigation into corruption in the sport, according to an extensive report by Yahoo! Sports published Friday morning.

Documents obtained and reviewed by the web site tie at least 20 Division I schools and more than two dozen players — including former No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz and current stars Miles Bridges and Collin Sexton — to former NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency, ASM Sports.

The players — or, in some cases, their family members — are listed as receiving impermissible benefits ranging from meals to more than $40,000 in loans, according to the report.

Among those listed on a 2015 balance sheet as receiving five-figure loans while they were in school, as reported by Yahoo Sports, are former Kentucky forward Edrice "Bam" Adebayo, former LSU guard Tim Quarterman, former North Carolina State guard Dennis Smith, former Maryland center Diamond Stone, former Seton Hall forward Isaiah Whitehead and Fultz, who starred at Washington.

MORE: What will possible NCAA violations mean for Kentucky?

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Several current players are also listed as having met with Miller's associate, Christian Dawkins, including Wendell Carter of Duke, Kevin Knox of Kentucky and Sexton, who plays for Alabama. The mother of Bridges, who entered the season as a player of the year candidate at Michigan State, is listed as receiving hundreds of dollars in loans from Dawkins, according to Yahoo. 

The website also reports that players, or family members of players, from the following other schools are listed in the documents: Clemson, Creighton, Iowa State, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Texas, Southern California, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wichita State and Xavier.

San Diego State took action Friday by provisionally suspending Malik Pope, a senior forward and the team's leading scorer. Pope allegedly received a $1,400 loan, according to Yahoo. The school said it is investigating.

Altogether, the documents mention players or family members of players from 17 programs that made the NCAA tournament last season, including five that reached the Elite Eight.

In a statement released a few hours after the report was published, NCAA president Mark Emmert said the allegations, if proven true, "point to systemic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America."

"Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules," Emmert said in the statement. "Following the Southern District of New York's indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it's clear this work is more important now than ever.

"The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts."

Coach John Calipari and Kentucky were among those who responded to the report later Friday. Wildcats athletic director Mitch Barnhart said the school has not been contacted by the FBI nor NCAA but will conduct an internal review, while Calipari denied having a relationship with Miller and Dawkins.

"Neither my staff nor I utilized any agent, including Andy Miller or any of his associates, to provide any financial benefits to a former or current Kentucky student-athlete," Calipari said in a statement. "We will cooperate fully with the appropriate authorities."

In a statement to Yahoo! Sports, Xavier coach Chris Mack also denied having a relationship with Miller, as did Maryland coach Mark Turgeon. Meanwhile, the mother of one of the players mentioned, Malcolm Brogdon, specifically denied meeting with Dawkins; One of the documents lists Brogdon's mother, Jann Adams, as having dinner with Dawkins at a Ritz-Carlton hotel in 2016.

"I don't remember having dinner with any agent," she toldThe Daily Progress. "And I don't honestly remember ever going to Ritz Carlton for dinner."

Yahoo! Sports' report provides the latest details in an ongoing college basketball scandal that could result in federal charges and/or NCAA sanctions.

In September, federal authorities indicted 10 individuals in connection to what prosecutor Joon Kim called "the dark underbelly of college athletics," including Division I assistants at four Power Five schools. An executive at Adidas, a financial advisor and sports agents Dawkins and Miller are also facing federal charges in light of the alleged fraud and corruption scheme.

The investigation has already led to upheval at Louisville, including the firing of longtime coach Rick Pitino and athletic director Tom Jurich. Authorities believe at least one Louisville coach, Adidas employees and Dawkins worked together to funnel money to the family of five-star prospect Brian Bowen to ensure that he would play at Louisville, then sign with Adidas and Dawkins when he entered the NBA.

The Louisville Courier-Journal, which is part of the USA TODAY Network, contributed to this report.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.