Attorney: Ayton committed to Arizona due to family ties, not money
Deandre Ayton's attorney, Lynden B. Rose, wants the FBI and NCAA to clear his client's name of any wrongdoing after it was linked to potential prohibited activity.
Phone conversations between Arizona head coach Sean Miller and former ASM Sports employee Christian Dawkins were intercepted by an FBI wiretap, with the two reportedly discussing a $100,000 payout to ensure Dayton would commit to the program.
In a statement passed along to ESPN's Mark Schlabach, Rose said Ayton decided to play at Arizona because of family ties, not financial incentive.
Arizona freshman DeAndre Ayton was questioned by FBI about alleged pay-for-play scheme and denied knowledge; his attorney asks for FBI and NCAA to clear his name pic.twitter.com/9cBJzPZQm8
— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) February 25, 2018
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The 19-year-old freshman is permitted to play Saturday night against Oregon, although Miller will not be on the sideline coaching.
Ayton currently leads the Pac-12 conference in both scoring (19.6) and rebounding (10.9), and is currently projected to be a top-five pick in the 2018 NBA Draft.