AUBURN, Ala. -- Auburn men's basketball Coach Bruce Pearl wanted to talk about his team, the season and anything but the federal investigation that has ensnared his top assistant and engulfed the sport.
Pearl would only say Friday that the alleged behavior leading to the arrest of suspended associate head coach Chuck Person on Tuesday on federal fraud and bribery charges "is unacceptable."
He steered clear of the topic after that, making it a fairly short news conference.
At his news conference, Pearl said he stood by the university's initial statement, adding that, "I can't and I won't have any further comment."
But the questions kept coming, and Pearl dodged them all.
He was asked 16 questions during a 10-minute news conference Friday before Auburn's first preseason practice, and only the last one was unrelated to the investigation. He repeatedly tried to turn the focus back to his team and the opening of practice. All the players on the roster were on the court.
Asked whether he would still feel optimistic if two players who allegedly received benefits were declared ineligible, he responded: "I feel like this team has got a chance to compete for the [NCAA] Tournament."
"The reason why we're having this press conference right now is really it's the start of practice, and that's what my focus is going to be," Pearl said. "So because I'm not going to be answering any more questions about matters that are relating to this, if you have any more basketball questions, I'll answer them. If you don't, I can't."
Person is among 10 people that have been arrested in the corruption case, including four college assistant coaches and an Adidas executive. According to documents, Person received $91,500 in bribes to steer Auburn players to financial advisor Martin Blazer and tailor Rashan Michel once they turn pro.
Person said $18,500 of the bribe money went to the families of two unnamed recruits, according to federal documents.
The documents quote Person as touting a highly rated recruit who would only "play a year and a half" at Auburn before turning pro. He arranged a meeting with the player, Blazer and Michel.
The player wasn't named, but center Austin Wiley joined the team in December and was a five-star recruit. He was on the court with his teammates Friday.
Also Friday, South Carolina's athletic director said its men's basketball program is not a target of the federal investigation that led to the arrest of a former assistant.
Gamecocks Athletic Director Ray Tanner said even with the complaints from the Justice Department, the school plans its own review.
Tanner said in a statement that South Carolina will hire an independent group that specializes in NCAA matters to review any issues that came up with Lamont Evans, the school and the federal investigation.
Evans was an assistant for South Carolina under Coach Frank Martin from 2012-2016. Martin hired him for his first job as a student assistant at Kansas State in 2008 and kept him as a graduate manager until he came to South Carolina. Evans left for Oklahoma State prior to last season.
Martin led South Carolina to its first Final Four last season.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo said Friday he's disappointed and sad about the scandal that has shaken up college basketball.
Izzo, a Hall of Famer, said it's a "black eye" to have the sport involved in a federal investigation.
"I'm not sure that I would ever hope something that negative has to be done to clean it up," Izzo said.
Izzo said the National Association of Basketball Coaches, where he is on the board of directors, met before the investigation became public.
He said he doesn't think anyone knew or saw this coming.
"I'm sure we'll have conference calls. I don't think anybody has their arms around it yet or the depth of it or what actually is going on," Izzo said. "It's hard to do anything or accuse anybody of anything until you really know what is going on."
Sports on 09/30/2017