Could we be nearing a conclusion for the FBI’s probe into college basketball? According to Pete Thamel of Yahoo! Sports, it’s possible, and the scope of the probe could be so broad that it would implicate some of the biggest names in the sport.
Thamel reported that there’s no word on when the results of the probe — which was announced in September of 2017 and has already taken down a handful of people in the sport — will be made public. But according to one of his sources who is aware of what the probe contains, a whole lot of people have reason for concern.
“This goes a lot deeper in college basketball than four corrupt assistant coaches,” Thamel’s source said. “When this all comes out, Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams the NCAA showed on its initial NCAA tournament show this weekend should worry about their appearance being vacated.”
To be clear, Thamel said nothing about whether this would impact the draft stock of anyone whose name would pop up in this probe. And for reference, here are the programs that were included in the initial tournament show.
Thamel also wrote that this probe could implicate up to 50 programs in one way or another, going as far as to say the “fundamental structure and integrity of the sport” is at risk. Of course, there is a debate to be had about whether that is a bad thing — if you believe players should be compensated, the fundamental structure of college basketball is broken, and the fact players do not get paid means there is currently no integrity in the sport — but that’s a discussion for another time.
