Evans to be 3rd coach pleading guilty to bribery
A third former college basketball coach accused of accepting thousands of dollars in bribes to steer players to certain financial advisers and managers once they turned pro will plead guilty to a federal conspiracy bribery charge in New York on Wednesday.
Former South Carolina and Oklahoma State assistant Lamont Evans, who was accused of accepting $22,000 in bribes, will plead guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit bribery, his attorney, Johnny McCray, told The Associated Press.
McCray said that the sentencing deal with federal prosecutors calls for Evans to spend up to two years in prison. He has also agreed to forfeit $22,000.
ESPN’s attempts to reach McCray on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
Two other former assistant coaches — Arizona’s Emanuel “Book” Richardson and USC’s Tony Bland — have already pleaded guilty to the same charge. The trio was arrested in September 2017 as part of the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption.
The two men accused of bribing the coaches — former Adidas consultant Merl Code and Christian Dawkins, a runner for former NBA agent Andy Miller, are scheduled to go on trial in U.S. District Court in Manhattan in April.
Code, Dawkins and Adidas executive James Gatto were convicted of federal fraud charges in October for funneling money from Adidas to the parents and/or guardians of high-profile recruits to steer them to sign with Adidas-sponsored schools, including Kansas, Louisville and NC State. They are scheduled for sentencing in that case on March 5.
Former Adidas consultant Thomas “T.J.” Gassnola, who pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy and testified in the October trial, is scheduled for sentencing on Friday. Former Auburn assistant Chuck Person and former NBA referee Rashan Michel are scheduled to go to trial in June. Person is accused of soliciting and accepting $91,500 in bribes from an undercover cooperating witness to influence Auburn players to sign with certain financial advisers.