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Arizona decides to stick with Miller

The Associated Press

When Arizona hastily called a news conference on Thursday afternoon, it appeared coach Sean Miller’s tenure in Tucson could be coming to an end.

Instead, the coach vehemently denied a report claiming he discussed a six-figure payment to a recruit. Less than three hours later, the school president announced Miller will remain as the 19th-ranked Wildcats’ coach.

“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 Thursday. “We will continue to pursue every avenue of inquiry available to us during this active and federal investigation to fully understand the facts.”

ESPN reported last Friday, 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 Arizona’s 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.

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

Later Thursday, the Wildcats announced that Allonzo Trier has been cleared by the NCAA. The junior guard — tied for second in the Pac-12 in scoring at 19.6 points per game — missed both games last week after tests showed a reappearance of the banned substance that led to his 19-game suspension last season.

Trier played Thursday night, scoring 18 points in a 75-67 victory over Stanford. With the win, Arizona clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 title.

Ayton added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

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