Editorial

Arizona, Kansas, LSU And Other Programs Expected To Be In The ‘Crosshairs’ Of Basketball Investigation

(Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)

David Hookstead Sports And Entertainment Editor
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Multiple powerhouse college basketball programs are expected to be targets of the NCAA.

A massive corruption scandal swept across the sport over the past year, and it has already resulted in former Arizona assistant Emanuel Richardson getting sentenced to three months in prison. Now, we have a better idea of who the NCAA might be coming after, and it’s a list of major teams.

Yahoo Sports reported the following late Thursday afternoon:

Those expected to be in the crosshairs and face the most significant penalties include: Louisville, North Carolina State, Kansas, Arizona, LSU, USC, Oklahoma State, South Carolina and Auburn. TCU, Creighton and Clemson all also had assistant coaches implicated in the scandal and could face sanctions.

It’s important to remember here the NCAA doesn’t need a conviction in court to punish a school. It can pretty much do whatever it wants whenever it wants.

The fact blue blood programs like Kansas, Arizona and Louisville are on the list from Yahoo Sports is bad news for the world of college basketball. (RELATED: LSU Reinstates Basketball Coach Will Wade)

Those are programs that are in the top tier. When they start searching around schools like that, it’s time to start panicking.

It’s also wild that the FBI and federal government arrested people over money being moved in college sports. That’s simply insane! Players get paid all the time in college sports. It’s an ugly truth if you’re a purist, but it’s the truth.

Coaches, bagmen, middle men and boosters moving cash is as old as college sports. Add in the apparel companies, and nothing should really surprise you.

Maybe instead of the FBI investigating this, which has caused the NCAA to react, we should be asking if it’s worth time, effort and resources.

Surely, the FBI must have better things to do, right?

As for the fans of those schools, good luck. This whole situation already cost Rick Pitino his job at Louisville, and I wouldn’t be surprised if some of these teams get slammed.

Luckily for the NCAA, they got the FBI to pretty much do their job for them. What an unreal situation.