Former Arizona assistant Book Richardson given 3-month prison sentence

The book has been closed on the federal case against former Arizona basketball assistant Emanuel ‘Book’ Richardson, who on Thursday was sentenced to three months in prison on a bribery charge.

Richardson, an Arizona assistant from 2010-16, plead guilty to the single count back in January. He had been facing a much longer sentence had he been found guilty of five federal charges stemming from his September 2017, which signified the first time an FBI investigation into college basketball corruption had been made public.

One of a handful of coaches arrested in 2017, Richardson admitted to $20,000 in bribes in exchange for helping steer current Arizona players toward particular agents.

Richardson was one of several people caught on wiretaps involving aspiring agent Christian Dawkins, one of three people who have been convicted in a pair of trials over the past year. Arizona coach Sean Miller was reportedly caught on tape discussing payments to players, though no such tapes have ever aired.

Attempts by defense attorneys in the second trial, which ended in May, to have Miller testify were unsuccesful.

Asked if Miller paid players, Richardson told Adam Zagoria—a New York-based reporter who had been covering the trial for the Arizona Daily Star—that “I have no knowledge of Sean Miller paying players or attempting to pay them.”

While Richardson’s sentencing signals an end, Arizona’s potential troubles may just be beginning. The school is under investigation by the NCAA for potential recruiting violations that were unerarthed by the federal investigation.

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