So here's a question: Even if the ESPN story that states Sean Miller was caught on a wiretap discussing a pay-for-play scheme with Christian Dawkins about Deandre Ayton proves to not be 100 percent accurate -- as multiple media outlets, including 247Sports, have recently suggested is possible -- is it even reasonable to think Sean Miller can successfully run Arizona's program going forward?

He has a former assistant facing federal prison and sure to eventually cooperate with authorities, at which point who knows what stories Book Richardson might tell? And, either way, this cloud over Miller doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon.

Yes, it's true that nobody in the recruiting world thinks Dawkins had anything to do with Ayton, which is why there's no obvious reason for Miller to be discussing a pay-for-play scheme with Dawkins about Ayton. And yes, it's true that ESPN has already changed the timeframe for the alleged phone call two different times, which has added more scrutiny to the report. But the report has still damaged Miller and the Arizona brand in a very real way. It's already affected recruiting and will continue to do so. So I wonder if it's not in everybody's best interests for Arizona and Miller to negotiate a settlement that allows Miller to focus on getting the vindication he says he's confident he'll get, and allows Arizona to get on with the post-Miller era instead of running the risk of standing by a scandal-ridden coach and then ultimately getting burned the way Louisville ultimately got burned when it stood by scandal-ridden Rick Pitino.

Matt Norlander and I discussed that at the top of this episode of the Eye On College Basketball podcast and just generally talked about the Miller situation from every angle. What are we to make of ESPN's corrections? And of ESPN reporter Mark Schlabach's Twitter silence? Will Miller eventually sue ESPN and/or Schlabach, as some have suggested? We spent about 34 minutes on that topic.

After that, the podcast went like this ...

  • 34:35: Miami won at North Carolina on Tuesday thanks to a JaQuan Newton buzzer-beater that followed Joel Berry's game-tying 3-pointer. Was that a fun final 10 seconds or was that a fun final 10 seconds? (#TWSS)
  • 42:06: St. Bonaventure beat Davidson in triple-overtime on Tuesday. The final score was 117-113. It was one of the most entertaining games of this season -- one that kept the Bonnies' at-large hopes to the NCAA Tournament alive. And it suggested Davidson freshman Kellan Grady might join St. Bonaventure senior Jaylen Adams in the NBA someday.
  • 47:31: We closed by previewing a few upcoming games -- specifically No. 1 Virginia at Louisville, Western Kentucky at No. 24 Middle Tennessee and No. 17 Rhode Island at Davidson.

The latest Eye on College Basketball podcast is below. Give it a listen. And if you're not already subscribed, please subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts here. If you are already subscribed, thank you. And #ShoutsToDevanDowney.