Arizona’s Deandre Ayton denies any wrongdoing or illegal activity after ESPN report alleges Sean Miller discussed paying Ayton $100,000

Deandre Ayton, the player at the center of a firestorm that appears as if it may cost Arizona coach Sean Miller his job, has denied any wrongdoing or illegal activity.

An ESPN story released Friday says the FBI has wiretapped conversations of Miller discussing a $100,000 payment to Ayton, the 7-foot-1 Bahamian native who is in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

Miller won’t coach Saturday night against Oregon and assistant coach Lorenzo Romar, the former head man at Washington, will take over head coaching duties for the game. Ayton is eligible to play in the game.

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

Photo: Sporting News

Written by Adam Zagoria

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Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.