So who's next?
Arizona? USC? Or somebody else entirely?
Because I'll be shocked if Auburn is the last men's basketball program to announce it will hold players out of games to "avoid any potential eligibility issues" as a result of the ongoing FBI investigation that's already led to the arrest of four assistant coaches. Yes, Auburn is the latest to announce as much. That happened Thursday morning. But will Auburn really be the last? Nah, I doubt it.
So who's next?
Arizona? USC? Or somebody else entirely?
I can't say for certain. But it'll surely be somebody, that seems certain, if only because Arizona assistant Book Richardson and USC assistant Tony Bland are accused of providing impermissible benefits to players or their families just like Auburn assistant Chuck Person allegedly provided impermissible benefits to the parents of Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley. To date, those players at Arizona and USC have not been publicly identified. But the FBI knows who they are. And Arizona and USC officials presumably know who they are. Which means their names will eventually be made public. Which means the schools would be foolish to play them because, if the players are eventually ruled retroactively ineligible, every game they appear in would likely be vacated.
And that's a good way to screw up a season.
Which is why Auburn has decided to hold Purifoy and Wiley out of games indefinitely, and why other schools will probably make similar announcements at some point between now and next Friday's opening of the college basketball season. It isn't ideal, obviously. But it's the only smart approach as subpoenas designed to uncover more wrongdoing continue to fly around the country.
