SANTA CRUZ, Calif.—The other shoe has fallen

Players from more than 20 high profile schools have been identified by Yahoo! as possibly breaking NCAA rules in an ongoing FBI investigation into corruption into college basketball that could severely taint college basketball for years to come.

Blue bloods identified by Yahoo as having players who possibly violated NCAA rules include Duke, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Michigan State, USC and Kansas.

At least 25 players are linked to impermissible benefits, including potential NBA first round draft picks, Michigan State’s Miles Bridges, Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Duke’s Wendell Carter Jr.

The documents obtained by Yahoo detail the work of NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency ASM Sports. Yahoo reported they show cash advances and entertainment and travel expenses paid for college prospects and their families.
ESPN previously reported that as many as three dozen Division I programs could be facing NCAA sanctions once the FBI releases the information it acquired during its two-year investigation that includes 4,000 conversations intercepted through wire taps and financial records, emails and other records seized from Miller’s office.

Other teams with current or former players who allegedly received payments include South Carolina, Louisville, Utah, Xavier, Wichita State, Clemson and Alabama. This is the NCAA’s worst nightmare and the just tip of the iceberg, considering Miller is only one financial agent.

Don’t act so surprised.

If the bottom line if players break rules, if coaches choose to live on the edge and get caught, they should be punished. It’s easy to subjectively justify why rules are broken and suggest players should be paid. Don’t try to justify the rules. Just enforce them. They have been put into place to monitor the integrity of the sport. Anything else comes across as false advertising. if the NCAA wants to promote these players as amateurs and call it not for profit.

These aren’t student athletes. They are athletes who represent the school and get paid. Everyone is asking officials to enforce the rules when players are playing by different rules. Why not allow the players to just walk with the ball, hang on the rim or use steroids?

If the information is valid and comes out before the start of this year’s NCAA tournament, any schools involved should be banned from participating for failure to monitor the actions of their players. The programs should be placed on probation and any wins in games they participated should be vacated. The NCAA has already vacated Louisville’s 2013 national championship and Cardinals’ Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has been fired.

This is no sugar coating this one. Under the current bylaws, it is the only way for the NCAA to sanitize a sport that has been constantly linked to corruption in the recruiting process for years. Either that or change the system.

At least six current and former players were identified in the documents as receiving payments exceeding $10,000. They include Mavericks guard Dennis Smith Jr. from North Carolina State, who received $73,500 in loans from ASM before he played for the Wolfpack; Nets; guard Isaiah Whitehead from Seton Hall, who received more than $37,000 around the time he was a freshman; and 2017 NBA No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz from Washington received $10,000. Other players named include former LSU guard Tim Quarterman, former Maryland center Diamond Stone and former Kentucky center Bam Adebayo.

“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college athletes in America,’’ NCAA executive director Mark Emmert said. “Simply put people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules.’’

Let’s see what Emmert does to correct an out of control situation. I’m sure all the coaches who played by the rules and got fired because they didn’t win enough games want to know.

Last week, a federal judge in New York declined to dismiss criminal indictments against adidas executives Jim Gatto Jr., and Merl Code, as well as Christian Dawkins, a runner who worked for ASM sports. These men are among 10 people indicted on wire fraud after the government accused them of funneling money from adidas to the families of high profile recruits. The trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 1 in New York City.

The soul of college basketball will be on trail, also.