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

"These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America,"
Mar 18, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; A general view of the NCAA basketball with the March Madness logo during the second half in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Documents related to an ongoing federal investigation, which were obtained and reviewed by Yahoo Sports, link 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.

In the Yahoo Sports report published Friday morning, the players — or, in some cases, their family members — are listed as receiving impermissible benefits ranging from a $70 lunch to more than $40,000 in loans.

Among those listed on a 2015 balance sheet as receiving five-figure loans while they were in school, as reported by Yahoo Sports: 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.

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 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, USC, Utah, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wichita State and Xavier.

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

"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."

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