MINNEAPOLIS– Maybe it’s just as well that Zion Williamson’s Duke team isn’t here for the NCAA Final Four.

Duke AD Kevin White says his school is looking into Michael Avenatti’s claim that Nike paid Zion’s mother a consulting fee while his son was enrolled at Spartanburg, S.C. Day Academy.

Avenatti, who has been charged with attempting to extort more than $20 million in payments from Nike, alleged on Twitter Friday night that the shoe giant paid for “bogus” services in 2016 or 2017 “as part of a Nike as part of a bribe to get Williamson to go the Duke.”

White told the student newspaper, the Chronicle, that it will investigate the claim as a compliance matter.

“We are aware of the allegation and, as we would with any compliance matter, are looking into it,’’ White said. “Every student athlete at Duke is reviewed to ensure their eligibility. In regard to Duke basketball: all recruits and their families are vetted by Duke in collaboration with the NCAA though the Eligibility Center’s amateurism certification process.’’

Nike told Yahoo Sports it firmly believes in ethical and fair play, both in business and sports’’ but would not comment farther.

Williamson’s stepfather Lee Anderson coached his stepson’s travel team, the South Carolina Supreme, which was sponsored by Adidas in 2017.

During an October federal trial into corruption in college basketball, in which three men were convicted for their roles in play for pay schemes to send athletes to Adidas-sponsored schools, one of the defendant’s attorney attempted to introduce wire tap recordings, in which former Adidas consultant Merl Code and Kansas assistant Kurtis Townsend discussed what it would take for Williamson to sign with the Jayhawks.

According to Code, Williamson was asking for “money in his pocket and housing for him and his family.’’

Townsend told Code “If that’s what it takes to get him for 10 months, we’re going to have to do it some way.’’

At that time, White did not feel Williamson’s eligibility was in jeopardy.