The FBI’s probe into the seedier workings of college basketball has already cost Rick Pitino his job at Louisville, among other impacts. Now, Arizona is losing out on a committed five-star recruit of their own.
Jahvon Quinerly is a consensus top-25 recruit in the class of 2018. The six-foot New Jersey point guard had committed to Arizona over offers from Kansas, UCLA, Stanford, and other schools, but last night Quinerly tweeted that he wouldn’t be fulfilling his commitment:
https://twitter.com/RealJahvonQ/status/921210721823809536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sportingnews.com%2Fncaa-basketball%2Fnews%2Ffive-star-recruit-recommits-from-arizona-amidst-fbi-probe%2Fsnw5zz1cqw861b0fsgksnyf05
After careful consideration, my family and I have determined it is in my best interest to retract my verbal commitment to The University of Arizona. I’d like to thank my extended family and fans for your continued love and support. Your positivity and kindness never goes unnoticed.
Quinerly was recruited by Arizona assistant Emmanuel “Book” Richardson, one of the ten assistant coaches investigated in the initial FBI probe. Arizona coach Sean Miller has denied any knowledge of wrongdoing, and so far has escaped scrutiny himself, but Richardson is almost certainly done at Arizona. He was suspended and remains on suspension, and it’s unlikely he’ll be back on the sidelines anytime soon.
For Quinerly, it makes sense to reopen his commitment, for a few reasons. First and foremost, he could very well be a part of the investigation, as ESPN notes:
Quinerly told ESPN earlier this month that his family hired a lawyer because of the FBI investigation, but had not been in contact with federal authorities at the time. Quinerly was not named in the FBI documents but was recruited by Arizona assistant Emanuel “Book” Richardson, one of the four coaches from various schools arrested in the probe. The documents allege a $15,000 bribe from Richardson to Player-5, who “verbally committed to attending” Arizona “on or about August 9, 2017.”
That’s bad!
And second, even if he wasn’t involved at all, the assistant who recruited him is obviously gone, and who knows whether the entire program will end up gutted in the near future? Heading for more certainty makes more sense, although other schools might be wary of taking on a player who could be part of the released documents.
College sports, everyone!
