Dan Bickley

The Republic | azcentral.com

For too long, college basketball has been two different games. One transpired on a hardwood court. The other took place under a table.

The dirty charade is finally over.

Four assistant coaches at major Division I programs have been arrested on allegations of fraud and bribery. The pay-for-play scandal has already cost Rick Pitino his job at Louisville.

Arizona head coach Sean Miller could be next.

Scandals don’t get any bigger. Or less surprising.

MORE:Arizona Board of Regents to review NCAA basketball scandal involving UA assistant coach

The funneling of cash to blue-chip recruits has long been college basketball’s worst-kept secret. Even legendary coach John Wooden had his own bag man, Sam Gilbert, who took care of UCLA players on the side. But this time, the FBI is running the show, not a team of toothless NCAA investigators.

A giant shoe company is involved. Cooperating witnesses seeking to lessen their own punishment could sing like birds at sunrise, doing more than expanding the scope of this story and exposing the dark underbelly of college basketball.

It could burn this sport to the ground.

This is a traumatic time for Tucson, a sleepy city that has staked much of its reputation and civic esteem on a powerhouse program that Lute Olson built from scratch. Miller, an intense head coach with a reputation for successfully recruiting the nation’s best players, had magically restored Arizona’s status as an elite basketball school.

Like most Division I coaches, he is a control freak, overseeing every detail.

Is it plausible he didn’t know that one of his longest-tenured assistants was corrupt? Oblivious to a guy on his own bench paying recruits to play basketball in the desert?

It doesn’t seem likely. But now is not the time for assumptions. It’s time for Miller to explain what he knows and how this could’ve happened in Tucson. There were more crickets than revelations on Tuesday, when Arizona canceled its annual Media Day event, which was set for Wednesday.

Even if it doesn’t cost him his job, Miller’s program will surely take a big hit. He was expected to field a championship-caliber team in 2017-18, a group that could’ve brought the talented coach his first Final Four appearance. His current team might’ve been ranked No. 1 before the FBI’s bombshell, allegations that could spark NCAA sanctions and the exodus of highly talented players who are looking to transfer to a safe haven.

Pitino gets no sympathy here. He deserves his dismissal. His resume at Louisville is marred by scandal and salacious behavior. He once again acted shocked and unaware by unflattering details that happened under his watch, but plausible deniability doesn’t fly with the FBI.

Miller, on the other hand, is one of the sport’s brightest young coaches. His greatest sin seemed to be losing the really big games and sweating through dress shirts. He never seemed like the sort who would cheat to win.

And maybe he didn’t.

But this is really bad. Even though Arizona’s basketball program is often loathed and ridiculed in the Valley, a region dominated by Arizona State alumni, the Wildcats' success was breathtaking and undeniable. Their program was once a shining star in State 48, proof that Arizona can produce a title contender in college basketball.

Now, their reputation has been sullied. The worst could be on its way. And the only silver lining for Wildcats fans is really no consolation at all.

Namely, that there are no recent NCAA championships to vacate.

MORE WILDCATS:What Book Richardson case means for Arizona basketball

MORE WILDCATS:How the FBI tracked and arrested Arizona assistant Book Richardson

MORE WILDCATS:Book Richardson prided himself on connections, people skills

Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Follow him on twitter.com/dan.bickley. Listen to “Bickley and Marotta” weekdays from 12-2 p.m. on 98.7 Arizona’s Sports Station.