Dutcher addresses corruption in college hoops
On Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York initially announced federal corruption charges against four NCAA basketball assistant coaches. The charges accused the coaches of taking "cash bribes" in exchange for steering basketball players to sign with specific financial advisers and agents. The three-year probe also uncovered a second set of allegations involving James Gatto, who is the director of global sports marketing for Adidas. The allegations state that Gatto made "six-figure payments" to three players who, for the cost, would in turn commit to a school involved with Adidas.
That was just the tip of the iceberg. The investigation continues to be ongoing, with no end in sight. Head coach Rick Pitino (Louisville), assistants Emanuel Richardson (Arizona), Lamont Evans (Oklahoma State), and Tony Bland (USC) are among the notable individuals who have been charged in this corruption investigation thus far. There are certainly more to follow. South Carolina, Louisville, and Miami are among the programs currently being investigated.
During Tuesday's press conference, first-year SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher addressed the ongoing investigation. He stated that he was "not surprised" by the news and called it the "nature of how business works" in college basketball. Dutcher also said he believes that NCAA hoops will "survive" the investigation, and whatever adjustments the NCAA makes will be "good for all of us." Steve Hartman and Mike Costa discussed Dutcher's comments as well as the current situation of NCAA Basketball Tuesday on The Loose Cannons. Check out what they had to say above.
