In statement, Chambers dismisses ASM connection
A Yahoo! Sports news report Friday morning tied some of the biggest college basketball programs and its most prominent players to NBA agent Andy Miller and his agency, ASM Sports.
Though not named specifically, Penn State basketball’s own connection to ASM has come into question due to the inclusion of former All-Big Ten guard D.J. Newbill’s name on documents provided in the report. Asked on his weekly teleconference Friday about the report, whether or not the program had any connection to ASM, or if he had any knowledge of the loan, Penn State head coach Patrick Chambers said he'd need to hold off on further comment.
Reached Saturday to follow-up on the story, however, a team spokeswoman provided the following statement from Chambers:
“I have no connection or association with Andy Miller or his agency. The University is looking into the information released on Friday. As I have stated, this program is committed to doing things the right way.”
In the report claiming to have seen "hundreds of pages of documents from the years-long probe that had federal authorities monitoring multiple targets and intercepting more than 4,000 calls across 330 days," it identifies Duke, Michigan State, North Carolina, Southern Cal, Texas and others as programs with players and families allegedly having received impermissible benefits under NCAA rules.
In Newbill's case, shown as having been loaned a sum of $2,000 from the agency, what is not identified is the date of the loan's issuance on documents dated Dec. 31, 2015. The same year Newbill finished his playing career and graduated from Penn State, a loan from an agent at the expiration of his eligibility would not be in violation of any NCAA rules.
A transfer to Penn State in 2011 following his freshman year at Southern Mississippi, Newbill went on to become one of the program's top scorers in three seasons of action with the Nittany Lions. Scoring 1,812 career points, he remains fourth all-time in scoring at Penn State and is only the second player in the program's history to score 500-plus points in three consecutive seasons.
Penn State (19-11 overall, 9-8 Big Ten) finishes its regular season at Nebraska (21-9, 12-5) for an 5:15 p.m. tip on Sunday.
*A previous version of this story incorrectly stated Newbill transferred from Mississippi State.