The third federal trial looking into corruption in college basketball had the potential to be a bomb shell if head coaches Sean Miller of Arizona and Will Wade of LSU were forced to testify under oath.

But the case lost a lot of its sizzle Friday when U.S. District Court Judge Edgardo Ramos ruled neither will have to take the stand. Ramos granted a motion by the prosecution, saying that whether the defendants had relationships with coaches whom they did not bribe was irrelevant. Ramos reserved the right to change his mind.

 Steve Haney, the defense attorney for aspiring agent Christian Dawkins, had argued that wiretap evidence of speaking with Miller and Wade would show he had conversations with high-level coaches and did not discuss bribes with the coaches on those phone calls. Those phone calls, Haney argued, would show Dawkins’ intent while also showing signs of systematic cheating at the highest level.

“The evidence establishes very clearly that Sean Miller is paying players at Arizona,’’ Haney said during Friday’s pre-trial hearing.

When asked by reporters after the hearing about his statement, Haney said, “You’ll have to be here to hear the evidence.’’

Andrew Mathias, the attorney for defendant Merl Code, a former Adidas consultant—told reporters there were assistant coaches on his witness list but did not specify any names. Mathias confirmed there were no head coaches on his list.

Dawkins and Code were charged with bribing three assistant coaches to influence players to sing with Dawkins’ sports management company once they turned pro. Arizona’s Book Richardson, Oklahoma State’s Lamont Evans and USC’s Tony Bland each plead out, pleading guilty to one felony count of federal bribery charges.

The second trial for Dawkins and Code—who, along with former Adidas executive James Gatto Jr., was   found guilty in October of federal conspiracy and fraud charges—is scheduled to begin Monday.