A former University of South Carolina assistant men’s basketball coach has been named as one of four suspects in an NCAA scandal.
Lamont Evans, who coached beside South Carolina men's basketball coach Frank Martin until 2016 and is now an assistant at Oklahoma State University, has been charged by the FBI for bribery, conspiracy, solicitation of bribes and other various charges.
Also caught up in the scandal are Arizona assistant coach Emmanuel Richardson, Auburn associate head coach Chuck Person, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl, Southern Cal's assistant Tony Bland and Louisville head coach Rick Pitino. All coaches were immediately suspended or relieved of their duties.
With Evans’ ties to South Carolina and, more notably, Frank Martin, more suspicion is raised about who else might be involved in the situation and to what magnitude.
NBA player Michael Beasley, who played under Martin at Kansas State, vouched for his innocence.
“We did it the right way, Frank’s a morally humble guy confident in his ways of basketball recruiting,” Beasley said on Wednesday.
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey also issued a statement Wednesday afternoon.
“The allegations announced by federal authorities on Tuesday are disturbing and, if true, reveal alarming activities within the sport of basketball. The depth of the problem remains to be seen but clearly there is indication of behavior that must be corrected for the health of basketball and the integrity of college athletics. The alleged activities are detrimental to the sport, are unfair to the many individuals who do it the right way and undermine the trust of the fans who support their programs. I find encouragement, however, in the federal government’s willingness to utilize the powerful tools at its unique disposal to hold responsible parties accountable.”
Auburn was the only SEC school named in the scandal and is being investigated closely. South Carolina may also be in question.
The FBI is continuing its investigation on this case and alleges that the schools named were not alone in these illegal practices. The FBI will release more information upon discovery.