#demetrius dawkins

[soranatus]

SUPERGIRL!!! By Demetrius Dawkins

[artverso]

Demetrius Dawkins - Static Shock

[mysteryonearth52]

Justice Society of America 7 (2023) by Geoff Johns & Mikel Janin 

Cover: Demetrius Dawkins (variant)

[ufonaut]

Justice Society of America (2022) #7

Written by GEOFF JOHNS

Art and cover by MIKEL JANIN

Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE (shown above)

1:25 variant cover by DEMETRIUS DAWKINS

$3.99 US | 32 pages | Variant $4.99 US (card stock)

ON SALE 6/27/23

Reunions are cut short when the JSA and the Lost Children to face down a new threat! Can this group of heroes and sidekicks find their rhythm or will it be curtains for both. What happens here has massive ramifications for the next stage of THE NEW GOLDEN AGE!

[dailyjsa]

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #7

Reunions are cut short when the JSA and the Lost Children face down a new threat! Can this group of heroes and sidekicks find their rhythm or will it be curtains for both? What happens here has massive ramifications for the next stage of THE NEW GOLDEN AGE!

Written by Geoff Johns

Art and cover by Mikel Janin

Available at your local comic shop and online TODAY

Variant covers:

Cover B (Yanick Paquette card stock)

Cover C (Demetrius Dawkins 1:25 card stock)

The preview for this issue is below the cut:

[comiccrusaders]

Static Shock by Demetrius Dawkins #comicart #comibookart

[bobjackets]

Supergirl by Demetrius Dawkins.

[dispatchdcu]

Justice Society of America: Gold #1 Preview

Justice Society of America: Gold #1 Preview #jsa #justicesocietyofamerica #doctorfate #hourman #spectre #sandman #atom #flash #DCEU #dccomics #comics #comicbooks #news #dcuuniverse #art #info #NCBD #previews #reviews #amazon

Justice Society of America: Gold #1 Preview: Contains JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA (2022) #1-3. Written by GEOFF JOHNS Art and cover by MIKEL JANIN Variant cover by YANICK PAQUETTE 1:25 variant cover by DEMETRIUS DAWKINS $4.99 US | 72 pages | Variant $5.99 US (card stock) ON SALE 10/3/23 Check out the Justice Society of America: Gold #1 Preview Pages below   Dig into our other Comic Book Dispatch…

[gotham-at-nightfall]

Daredevil

By Demetrius Dawkins

[soranatus]

The Blue Beetle By Demetrius Dawkins

[junker-town]

UAB has a big challenge in 2019, but it’s overcome bigger

Bill Clark took his zombie program to a C-USA title in 2018 but must replace a truckload of seniors. What happens as he attempts to establish roster balance?

Bill C’s annual preview series of every FBS team in college football continues. Catch up here!

Bill Clark has been employed by the University of Alabama-Birmingham for five years. In that time, the following has happened:

He improved the Blazers by four wins, from 2-10 to 6-6 (and from 113th in S&P+ to 83rd) in his 2014 debut campaign.

He watched his team dissolved and sold for parts. UAB basically self-imposed a two-year death penalty for reasons that, as time has passed, have gotten no less dumb.

Somehow, he stayed. The former South Alabama defensive coordinator and Jacksonville State head coach could have found gainful employment elsewhere, but he chose not to. Even when he no longer had a roster.

He got his team back. The Blazers started playing football again in 2017.

It was announced that UAB would finally get the downtown (near-campus) stadium it had wanted for years.

Improbably, the Blazers picked up right where they left off on the field, going 8-5 with a Bahamas Bowl bid in 2017, then going 11-3 and winning Conference USA in 2018. They stomped Northern Illinois for the program’s first bowl win.

This will forever remain one of the strangest tales in college football’s strange history. Long an afterthought within the University of Alabama system, UAB football had to die to come back stronger.

Here’s where I want to deliver a change-of-direction, one-sentence paragraph like “And now the real work begins.” I’m not above such a thing, and it could be rather apt, for reasons I’ll discuss in a moment. But how in the world do you top “stayed in town to lead a zombie football program“ from a Bill Clark Degree of Difficulty standpoint? No matter what happens from here on out, it’s not that.

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

Bill Clark at the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year reception

But yeah, this year’s going to be tricky. Clark heads into 2019 replacing his leading passer, his top four wideouts, four starting offensive linemen, all three starting defensive linemen, four of his top five linebackers, and four of his top seven defensive backs. When he was putting together his zombie roster, he predictably leaned heavily into the JUCO ranks — you would, too, because the only other option was to hit the ground with a bunch of redshirt freshmen.

Though he tried his best to balance classes and not field a lineup with 22 juniors in 2017, Clark still had a lot of juniors. They became seniors for last year’s C-USA title run, and now they’re gone. He dipped back into the JUCO well a bit again this year and probably will most years moving forward, but 2019’s the season in which the quest for roster balance takes center stage. It might be at least momentarily bumpy.

He found a bridge last year at quarterback, though. Yes, technically leading passer A.J. Erdely is gone — that wasn’t just a rhetorical flourish — but freshman Tyler Johnston III took over in the starting lineup midseason and topped Erdely’s production dramatically: 8.7 yards per pass attempt (including sacks) vs. 6.6, plus-9.4 percent marginal efficiency vs. minus-2.4. He wasn’t quite as explosive as Erdely with his legs, but he was more efficient (49 percent success rate vs. 47).

With Johnston and junior running back Spencer Brown (1,227 rushing yards) both returning, there are somewhat proven pieces to build around, and the defense does return a handful of last year’s stars: linebacker Fitzgerald Mofor, safety Kristopher Moll, cornerback Brontae Harris, etc.

Clark’s Blazers need receivers, and they are completely unproven from a depth perspective. Predictably, S&P+ projects UAB to fall from 75th to 106th because of low returning production numbers. But in the three seasons he’s been able to field a team, Clark has engineered major overachievement all three times. This year will be tricky, but Clark gets the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise. And there’s nothing you can throw at him and his program that will be harder than what they’ve already overcome.

Offense

Clark got his 2014 offensive coordinator back last fall. Bryant Vincent, who left for South Alabama when the program disbanded, returned to Birmingham and engineered at least a little bit of improvement. The Blazers rose from 117th to 104th in Off. S&P+ and perhaps would have improved more with a full season of Johnston at the helm. This is a defense-first program and likely always will be with Clark in charge, but the offense had the makings of an identity last fall, combining run-first efficiency with big-play passing.

With Johnston, the pass didn’t have to play quite as complementary a role. He was 25-for-39 for 306 yards, two touchdowns, and two picks against a good Texas A&M defense late in the year, then torched an almost equally strong NIU defense to the tune of 17-for-29 for 373 yards, four scores, and one pick in the Boca Raton Bowl.

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Tyler Johnston III

Of course, he achieved that with a bunch of receivers that won’t be suiting up this year. Xavier Ubosi, Andre Wilson, Collin Lisa, and Kailon Carter combined for 123 catches, 2,285 yards, and 16 touchdowns last year, then all departed. Leading tight end Donnie Lee is gone, too.

Only two returning wideouts caught passes in 2018; Kendall Parham and Austin Watkins combined for 21 catches and 279 yards. Parham matched the departed seniors from an efficiency standpoint, but the 5’10, 180-pound senior from Hattiesburg will be facing a lot more No. 1 cornerbacks this coming season.

Some former star recruits will have to step up. Junior Demetrius Davis and sophomore Kevin Davis were both three-star prospects once upon a time, and if he makes it to campus, so is JUCO transfer Markus Grossman. Sederian Copeland was one of Clark’s best zombie recruits and caught 11 balls in 2017 before missing last year with injury. So maybe there’s some upside to this new receiving corps. But the turnover is comprehensive, and the depth is unproven.

John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Spencer Brown

Vincent’s offense was pretty predictable last year — run on run downs (sixth in standard downs run rate), throw on throwing downs (92nd in passing downs run rate) — and at least the former part of that will probably remain in 2019. The Blazers might have an unproven passing game, but they do have a workhorse in Brown. The 220-pound junior doesn’t bring much explosiveness to the table, but UAB ranked 33rd in opportunity rate (percentage of non-sack carries gaining at least four yards), and he was a primary reason why.

For a change of pace, UAB’s also got Jonathan Haden again. The senior-to-be, a former Arizona back, also missed 2018 with injury, and while he’s the size of a slot receiver (5’7, 175), there’s size behind Brown on the depth chart, too, sophomores Lucious Stanley (6’0, 215) and Arkansas State transfer Larry Wooden (6’0, 210).

There might be decent depth at running back, but it’s hard to say the same about the line. Center Lee Defour — one of the two remaining 2014 Originals (along with kicker Nick Vogel) — is the only returning starter, and while three others saw spot starts (seniors Andrew Smith Jr. and Davide Galten, junior Greg Fecanin), all four departed starters were either first- or second-team all-conference. The bar is high. Clark signed two mammoth three-star JUCOs (Sidney Wells and Matthew Trehern) to try to stem the tide here.

Defense

David Reeves served as defensive line coach in 2014, then remained with Clark during UAB’s hiatus and took over as defensive coordinator when, you know, the Blazers had a defense to coordinate. After a mix-and-match 2017, UAB’s senior-heavy 2018 defense dominated. The Blazers surged to 45th in Def. S&P+, attacking you on both standard downs and passing downs.

UAB on standard downs: 2nd in marginal efficiency, 72nd in marginal explosiveness, 2nd in sack rate

UAB on passing downs: 28th in marginal efficiency, 96th in marginal explosiveness, 6th in sack rate

This was an all-or-nothing, get-you-before-you-get-me kind of style, and it worked beautifully with 2018’s experienced personnel. There will almost certainly be a drop-off in 2019, but the size is yet to be determined.

John Glaser-USA TODAY Sports

Fitzgerald Mofor (52)

We’ll start in the back, where there’s reason for optimism. Brontae Harris was one of Pro Football Focus’ 10 top-graded cornerbacks last season, combining four tackles for loss with 13 passes defensed, and nickel back Kristopher Moll was dynamite both near the line of scrimmage (7.5 TFLs) and further away (five passes defensed). The next two cornerbacks after Harris are gone, but sophomore Starling Thomas could be ready for a star turn. Former star recruit CD Daniels could also see more playing time.

That’s a good start. The safety position is tenuous enough beyond Moll that a couple of running backs (Jarrion Street and Trey Whitmore, who combined for 297 rushing yards in 2018) converted to DB, but between the former RBs and veterans like Dy’jonn Turner and former Indiana safety Will Dawkins, there are some non-freshman options.

Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Garrett Marino (44)

Up front, UAB’s got lineman Garrett Marino, linebacker Fitzgerald Mofor, and who-the-heck-knows after that. Those seniors are the only front-seven returnees who made at least 12 tackles last season.

Clark added three JUCOs (including 355-pound behemoth Tony Fair) and USF transfer Mi’Cario Stanley and, in anticipation of this year’s turnover, attempted to use the new four-game redshirt rule to his benefit — both nose tackle Fish McWilliams and linebacker Jalen Rayam were given sporadic rotation time. As with the receiving corps, there is a mixture of new and old here, and it might work out, but UAB needs both new first- and second-stringers, which obviously calls depth into question.

Special Teams

You could make a decent case that UAB’s special teams is the most proven returning unit on the roster. The Blazers ranked 25th in Special Teams S&P+ last year, thanks in part to Nick Vogel’s automatic touchbacks on kickoffs and punter Kyle Greenwell’s high, mostly un-returnable punts.

Vogel was automatic inside of 40 yards (12-for-12, plus 51-for-52 on PATs), if very much not outside of 40 (3-for-12). The primary new face in this unit will be in returns, where someone has to replace the efficient Andre Wilson. I know of one freshman who’ll likely get a shot at the job.

2019 outlook

2019 Schedule & Projection Factors

Date Opponent Proj. S&P+ Rk Proj. Margin Win Probability 29-Aug Alabama State NR 36.0 98% 7-Sep at Akron 124 7.6 67% 21-Sep South Alabama 127 13.5 78% 28-Sep at Western Kentucky 101 -3.7 42% 5-Oct Rice 126 12.7 77% 12-Oct at UTSA 128 9.4 71% 19-Oct Old Dominion 119 10.3 72% 2-Nov at Tennessee 21 -25.2 7% 9-Nov at Southern Miss 74 -12.3 24% 16-Nov UTEP 130 21.2 89% 23-Nov Louisiana Tech 86 -4.9 39% 30-Nov at North Texas 84 -10.2 28%

Projected S&P+ Rk 106 Proj. Off. / Def. Rk 119 / 76 Projected wins 6.9 Five-Year S&P+ Rk -6.7 (92) 2- and 5-Year Recruiting Rk 91 2018 TO Margin / Adj. TO Margin* 0 / 4.5 2018 TO Luck/Game -1.6 Returning Production (Off. / Def.) 36% (33%, 39%) 2018 Second-order wins (difference) 10.1 (0.9)

Act III of Clark’s UAB tenure begins this fall. It won’t be a stupid as Act I or as incredibly redeeming as Act II, but it’s just as important. Recruiting is picking up, and the new stadium is on the horizon, and while Clark is allowed a few mulligans at this point, we’ll see if recent efforts to brace for 2019’s massive turnover pay off.

The schedule certainly won’t hurt. UAB has one of the cakiest slates you’ll ever see for an FBS team; the Blazers won’t play a single opponent projected higher than 101st in S&P+ until November, and that doesn’t even tell the whole story: after starting with Alabama State, they’ll play five of the 12 worst-projected FBS teams: Akron and South Alabama in non-conference play, then Rice, UTSA, and ODU in C-USA action.

The schedule gets tougher late, with trips to Tennessee, Southern Miss, and North Texas and a visit from Louisiana Tech. But even with a pessimistic No. 106 projection, S&P+ still gives the Blazers good odds of reaching another bowl. And if they overachieve, as Clark teams are wont to do, they won’t need many breaks to reach at least eight or nine wins.

If they pull that off during a massive overhaul season, just think of what they might accomplish when they’ve got some semblance of roster balance.

Going 8-4 or so during a rebuild would be an amazing story, but honestly, if UAB has done anything in the last five years, it’s normalize the word “amazing.” Everything that has happened since Clark came to town, both good and bad, has qualified for that adjective. And it’s been a lot more good than bad recently.

Team preview stats

All 2019 preview data to date.

[redcarpetview]

THE 49TH ANNUAL GMA DOVE AWARDS NOMINEES ANNOUNCED TODAY WITH TAUREN WELLS LEADING ARTIST NOMINATIONS WITH SEVEN AND ZACH WILLIAMS WITH SIX

          CORY ASBURY, TASHA COBBS LEONARD AND TOBYMAC HONORED WITH FIVE NODS EACH

    Awards to be held live Tuesday, October 16, at Lipscomb University and will air on TBN on Sunday, October 21

   NASHVILLE, Tenn. (August 8, 2018) - The Gospel Music Association (GMA) announced today the nominees for the 49th Annual GMA Dove Awards, revealed exclusively on Facebook Live with the help of Travis Greene and Francesca Battistelli. The awards show will take place on Tuesday, October 16, at Lipscomb University. Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) will exclusively air the show on Sunday, October 21. Voting for the final winners will run August 20 through August 27.

          Tauren Wells leads artist nominations with seven, followed by Zach Williams with six and Cory Asbury, Tasha Cobbs Leonard and TobyMac with five nods each. Top nominated writer/producer Colby Wedgeworth scored eight nominations. View the full list of nominees here: http://bit.ly/DoveNominees2018. 

          Tauren Wells

                  "Congratulations to this year's Dove Award nominees!" GMA President Jackie Patillo said. "God is doing amazing things through our artists and their music. This year's theme Reverent Wonder celebrates the greatness of God and acknowledges His powerful message of hope for the world."

       The GMA Dove Awards celebrate the contributions of artists from every style of Christian/Gospel music. Nominees are determined by GMA’s professional members, and winners will be voted on by the entire GMA membership. For more information or to purchase tickets to the show, visit www.doveawards.com.

             Zach Williams receives his first career GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album for Chain Breaker during the 60th GRAMMY Awards at Madison Square Garden. Photo source www.instgram.com/zachwilliamsmusic

              Artist of the Year

Hillsong UNITED, Hillsong Music Australia / Capital CMG

MercyMe, Fair Trade Services

NEEDTOBREATHE, Atlantic Records

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Motown Gospel

Zach Williams, Provident Label Group

      Song of the Year

“All My Hope” - (writers) David Crowder, Ed Cash

“Blessings” - (writers) Allen Swoope, Asheton Hogan, Lecrae Moore, Maurice Simmonds, Tyrone Williams Griffin, Jr.

“Broken Things” - (writers) Andrew Jacob Pruis, Jason Houser, Matthew West

“Control (Somehow You Want Me)” - (writers) Jason Ingram, Matt Bronleewe, Mike Donehey

“Different” - (writers) Kyle Lee, Micah Tyler

“Hills and Valleys” - (writers) Chuck Butler, Jonathan Smith, Tauren Wells

“I just need U.” - (writers) Blake NeeSmith, Bryan Fowler, Kevin McKeehan

“I'll Find You” - (writers) Danny Majic, John Mitchell, Justin Franks, Lecrae Moore, Natalie Sims, Sasha Sloan, Victoria Kelly

“O'Lord” - (writers) Joe Williams, Paul Mabury 

“Old Church Choir” - (writers) Colby Wedgeworth, Ethan Hulse, Zach Williams

“Reckless Love (writers) Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, Ran Jackson

“So Will I (100 Billion X)” (writers) Benjamin Hastings, Joel Houston, Michael Fatkin

“Unfinished” - (writers) Ben Glover, Colby Wedgeworth 

      New Artist of the Year

Cory Asbury, Bethel Music

Koryn Hawthorne, RCA Inspiration

Mosaic MSC, Essential Worship

Pat Barrett, Capitol CMG

Tauren Wells, Provident Label Group

        Koryn Hawthorne on 2018 Stellar Awards’ Red Carpet Arrivals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Naomi Richard.

            Gospel Artist of the Year

CeCe Winans, Puresprings Gospel / Thirty Tigers

Jekalyn Carr, Lunjeal Music Group

Kirk Franklin, RCA Inspiration

Tasha Cobbs Leonard, Motown Gospel

Travis Greene, RCA Inspiration

       Worship Song of the Year

“Do It Again” - (writers) Chris Brown, Mack Brock, Matt Redman, Steven Furtick

“Reckless Love" - (writers) Caleb Culver, Cory Asbury, Ran Jackson

“So Will I (100 Billion X)” - (writers) Benjamin Hastings, Joel Houston, Michael Fatkin

“Spirit of the Living God” - (writers) Jacob Sooter, Mia Fieldes

“Tremble” - (writers) Andres Figueroa, Hank Bentley, Mariah McManus, Mia Fieldes 

                 Pop/Contemporary Recorded Song of the Year

“All My Hope” – Crowder, (writers) David Crowder, Ed Cash

“O'Lord”– LaurenDaigle, (writers)JoeWilliams, Paul Mabury

“When We Pray” – Tauren Wells, (writers) Colby Wedgeworth, Ethan Hulse, Tauren Wells

“I just need U.” – TobyMac, (writers) Blake NeeSmith, Bryan Fowler, Toby McKeehan

“Old Church Choir” – Zach Williams, (writers) Colby Wedgeworth, Ethan Hulse, Zach Williams 

       Rap/Hip Hop Recorded Song of the Year

“Not Today Satan (ft. Andy Mineo) ” – KB, (writers) Andrew Mineo, Chris Mackey, Jacob Cardec, Joseph Prielozny, Kevin Burgess

“War Cry (ft. Tauren Wells)” – Social Club Misfits, (writers) Andrew Wells, David Frank, Fernando Miranda, John Thomas Roach, Martin Santiago, Tommee Profitt

“SMILE” – Tedashii, (writers) Lasanna Harris, Marquis Rachad, Philip Green, Shama Joseph, Tedashii Anderson

“Forever” – Trip Lee, (writers) Jacob Cardec, William Barfield

“Praying Hands (ft. Trip Lee)” – Ty Brasel, (writers) Kenneth Christian Mackey, Ty Brasel 

           Brian Courtney Wilson on 2018 Stellar Awards’ Red Carpet Arrivals in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Naomi Richard.

           Contemporary Gospel/Urban Recorded Song of the Year

“I Got That” – Anthony Brown & group therAPy, (writer) Anthony Brown

“A Great Work” – Brian Courtney Wilson, (writers) Aaron W. Lindsey, Alvin Richardson, Brian Courtney Wilson

“Not Lucky, I'm Loved” – Jonathan McReynolds, (writers) Jonathan McReynolds, Terrell Demetrius Wilson

“Won't He Do It” – Koryn Hawthorne and Roshon Fegan, (writers) Loren Hill, Makeba Riddick, Rich Shelton

“You (ft. Tye Tribbett)” – Snoop Dogg, (writers) Jovan J. Dawkins, Jevon Hill, Stanley Green Jr, Timothy Tyrone Bush Jr, Tye Tribbett 

        Southern Gospel Recorded Song of the Year

“​He Can Take It​”​ – ​Brian Free & Assurance,​ (writers) Jeff Bumgardner, Kenna Turner West, Sue C. Smith

“​Clear Skies​”​ – ​Ernie Haase & Signature Sound​, (writers) Ernie Haase, Joel Lindsey, Wayne Haun

“Hallelujah Band” – Gaither Vocal Band, (writers) Becca Mizell, Sam Mizell

“Washed By The Water” – Jason Crabb, (writers) Dave Barnes, Jason Crabb, Jordan Reynolds

“Just When You Thought” – Joseph Habedank, (writers) Joseph Habedank, Michael Farren, Wayne Haun 

        About GMA:

Founded in 1964, the Gospel Music Association serves as the face and voice for the Gospel/Christian music community and is dedicated to exposing, promoting and celebrating the Gospel through music of all styles including Pop, Rock, Praise & Worship, Urban Gospel, R&B, Hip Hop, Southern Gospel, Bluegrass, Country, Latin and more. The GMA community includes agents, artists, church leaders, managers, promoters, radio personnel, record company executives, retailers, songwriters and other industry visionaries. The GMA produces the GMA Dove Awards and IMMERSE. For more on supporting the GMA or becoming a member, please visit www.gospelmusic.org.

                                                                                                                      # # #

[yahoo-the-dagger-blog]

What to know about the college basketball scandal and its fallout

The specter of the college basketball scandal looms over this year’s NCAA tournament. (AP)

The NCAA tournament tips off on Tuesday, and when it does, the eyes of the college hoops world will turn to basketball. But for the past few months, they’ve largely been elsewhere.

They have, to varying degrees, been glued to a sweeping corruption scandal that has unsettled the sport and threatened to do much more.

The worst, in all likelihood, is yet to come. But the scandal intensified in the final weeks of the regular season after a Yahoo Sports report implicated several active players and programs.

[It’s bracket time! Sign up now to play Tourney Pick’em]

The scandal might not directly affect the 2018 NCAA tournament, and might be swept under the rug for a few weeks. But in many ways, it already has had an impact. Here’s what you need to know.

The scandal in 150 words

A years-long FBI investigation, replete with wiretaps, recordings and financial records, uncovered evidence of widespread corruption involving universities and their men’s basketball programs, shoe companies, agents and players. In September, authorities arrested 10 men, including active assistant coaches at Arizona, Auburn, Oklahoma State and USC.

No further arrests have been made, but the investigation is ongoing, and threatens to ensnare dozens of top programs, Hall of Fame coaches and former and future NBA lottery picks.

In February, Yahoo Sports published federal documents detailing payments allegedly made to current and former college stars or their families.

In light of the Yahoo Sports report, many high-profile schools launched internal investigations to look into the allegations. Several schools held players out of competition due to eligibility concerns, but most of the players implicated have been allowed to keep playing.

Among current head coaches, Arizona’s Sean Miller has taken the most heat, but Miller vehemently denied an ESPN report that the FBI had intercepted a phone call in which Miller discussed making an illicit payment.

The players and programs implicated

The documents obtained by Yahoo Sports implicate the following high-profile players, among others:

Current college players Miles Bridges (Michigan State), Bennie Boatwright (USC), Chimezie Metu (USC), Eric Davis (Texas) and Malik Pope (San Diego State) were among those listed as having received (or having had a family member receive) payments from Christian Dawkins, the agent indicted by federal authorities, or ASM Sports, the agency headed by Andy Miller at the center of the investigation.

Current freshmen Collin Sexton (Alabama), Wendell Carter (Duke) and Kevin Knox (Kentucky) were among those listed as having met with (or having family members who met with) Dawkins.

Brian Bowen, who initially signed with Louisville, then withdrew and enrolled at South Carolina, was implicitly listed in the initial criminal complaints as having received illegal payments, and then explicitly listed in the documents obtained by Yahoo Sports.

Former college players Markelle Fultz (Washington), Josh Jackson (Kansas), Dennis Smith Jr. (NC State), Bam Adebayo (Kentucky), Kyle Kuzma (Utah), Fred VanVleet (Wichita State), Edmond Sumner (Xavier), P.J. Dozier (South Carolina), Isaiah Whitehead (Seton Hall), Tim Quarterman (LSU), Diamond Stone (Maryland) and Jaron Blossomgame (Clemson) were among those listed as having received (or having had a family member receive) payments from Dawkins or ASM Sports.

Former college players Tony Bradley (North Carolina), Justin Patton (Creighton), Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame), Malcolm Brogdon (Virginia), Monte Morris (Iowa State) and Wade Baldwin (Vanderbilt) were among those listed as having met with (or having family members who met with) Dawkins.

Many of the schools mentioned above reviewed the allegations and determined that there were no eligibility issues affecting their current players. Many of the implicated players also denied that either they or their families received the money or benefits mentioned in Dawkins’ expense report.

Arizona and Sean Miller

Hours after the Yahoo Sports report, ESPN reported that the FBI’s evidence included intercepted phone calls between Sean Miller and Dawkins in which the two discussed a payment of $100,000 “to ensure star freshman Deandre Ayton signed with the Wildcats.” Per ESPN, that was one of multiple conversations between the two, and when Dawkins asked Miller if he should instead negotiate with one of Miller’s assistant coaches (who was later among those arrested in September), Miller told Dawkins to deal directly with him (Miller).

One day later, Miller did not coach Arizona in its game against Oregon. Ayton, though, the Pac-12 player of the year, was in uniform and has been since.

Questions about the feasibility of the timeline in the ESPN story emerged in the days following publication. ESPN said the alleged phone conversation intercepted in the wiretap occurred in 2017, months after Ayton had already committed to Arizona. The network issued a pair of corrections stating that the phone call took place in Spring 2016 and then just 2016 before issuing a third correction that reverted back to the original timeline.

The following week, Miller – who had received public backing from Arizona’s president back in October – held a news conference to emphatically deny the ESPN report. “Let me be very, very clear,” he said. “I have never discussed with Christian Dawkins paying Deandre Ayton to attend the University of Arizona. Anything reporting to the contrary is inaccurate, false and defamatory.”

Miller returned to the sidelines that night and has been coaching since.

How many other top programs will be affected?

Miller’s Arizona program is the most successful of those explicitly implicated in the scandal so far. But sources told Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel in February that potentially as many as 50 college basketball programs could end up compromised in some way.

One source told Thamel: “Hall of Fame coaches should be scared, lottery picks won’t be eligible to play and almost half of the 16 teams [on track for a top-four seed in the 2018 NCAA tournament as of mid-February] should worry about their appearance being vacated.”

How the scandal blew up

Back in 2015, the FBI opened an investigation into the college hoops underworld – the black market in which coaches, agents, apparel company employees and financial advisors use illegal payments to influence high school stars during their recruitment.

With the help of a cooperating witness – reportedly Marty Blazer, a financial planner who pled guilty to fraud and identity theft – investigators uncovered evidence that includes over 4,000 phone call recordings and thousands of documents.

On Sept. 26, 2017, authorities announced the arrests of 10 men in three separate but related criminal cases. Eight of the 10 were indicted in November. The 10 are charged on various counts of bribery, wire fraud and, in the cases of five of the six non-coaches, money laundering conspiracy.

Who was arrested?

The 10 men arrested, along with their positions at time of arrest, were:

High-ranking Adidas executive James Gatto

Auburn assistant coach Chuck Person

Arizona assistant coach Emanuel “Book” Richardson

Oklahoma State assistant coach Lamont Evans

USC assistant coach Tony Bland

Agent Christian Dawkins

Financial adviser Munish Sood

Adidas employee Merl Code

High-end clothing company owner Rashan Michel

AAU director Brad Augustine

The charges against Augustine were dropped in February. Sood was the other of the 10 who was never indicted.

Were other schools implicated in the criminal complaints?

Nobody officially associated with Louisville was charged, but the complaints alleged that Gatto, Sood and Dawkins – the Adidas exec, financial planner and agent – “conspired to illicitly funnel approximately $100,000″ from Adidas to the family of a player subsequently reported to be Bowen. The money was designed to help coaches at Louisville, an Adidas-sponsored school, in their recruitment of Bowen. Bowen committed to Louisville in June 2017.

South Carolina – where Evans coached from 2012-2016 – was also implicitly mentioned as “a public research university located in South Carolina … with over 30,000 students.”

The fallout

One day after the investigation exploded, Louisville coach Rick Pitino – already dogged by a separate stripper scandal – was effectively fired, as was Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich.

Louisville also suspended Bowen indefinitely, and later told the freshman he would never play or practice for the school. Bowen subsequently withdrew from Louisville, enrolled at South Carolina, and appealed to the NCAA.

The same day Pitino was ousted, Alabama “accepted the resignation” of a men’s basketball administrator who had met with Michel, the FBI’s cooperating witness, and the father of a recruit.

A month and a half later, Alabama freshman Collin Sexton was one of several players initially held out of competition by schools due to eligibility concerns. Others initially held out were Auburn duo Danjel Purifoy and Austin Wiley; Oklahoma State’s Jeffrey Carroll and USC’s De’Anthony Melton.

Sexton was reinstated after missing the season opener, and has played all but two games since. Carroll sat out the first three games of the season, but has played in every game since. Purifoy and Wiley, though, have not been reinstated. USC announced Melton would sit the entire season, and the sophomore guard subsequently decided to leave the school and prepare to turn pro.

Following the Yahoo Sports report in late February, Pope (San Diego State) and Davis (Texas) were both suspended indefinitely by their respective schools. Davis, a junior guard, has been held out since. Pope missed one game before being reinstated.

Other schools, though, released statements saying they had found no wrongdoing by players or employees, and/or had no reason to suspend players whose names appeared in the documents.

Meanwhile, the notorious NBA agent at the heart of the scandal, ASM Sports founder Andy Miller, was forced to relinquish his NBPA agent certification. Miller, who represented NBA stars such as Kevin Garnett and Kyle Lowry, had his computer seized in an FBI raid and is now effectively out of business.

What has been the NCAA’s role in the investigation?

Though it has been criticized unceasingly from all corners of the basketball world since news of the investigation and arrests broke, the NCAA is mostly playing a waiting game. It has ceded the floor to federal authorities, and will likely let their investigation play out before it begins any of its own, and before it takes any action.

Shortly after the Yahoo Sports report in late February, NCAA president Mark Emmert issued the following statement:

“These allegations, if true, point to systematic failures that must be fixed and fixed now if we want college sports in America. Simply put, people who engage in this kind of behavior have no place in college sports. They are an affront to all those who play by the rules. Following the Southern District of New York’s indictments last year, the NCAA Board of Governors and I formed the independent Commission on College Basketball, chaired by Condoleezza Rice, to provide recommendations on how to clean up the sport. With these latest allegations, it’s clear this work is more important now than ever. The Board and I are completely committed to making transformational changes to the game and ensuring all involved in college basketball do so with integrity. We also will continue to cooperate with the efforts of federal prosecutors to identify and punish the unscrupulous parties seeking to exploit the system through criminal acts.”

How will the investigation affect the 2018 NCAA tournament?

Aside from players on NCAA tournament teams who have been suspended by their schools – Davis at Texas, Purifoy and Wiley at Auburn, Melton at USC, Bowen at (previously) Louisville – the investigation likely won’t have an immediate impact.

But the scandal could have a retrospective impact years down the line. National titles, Final Four appearances, tournament appearances and wins could be vacated. How extensive the fallout will eventually be remains unknown.

– – – – – – –

Henry Bushnell covers soccer and college basketball for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.

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Icon vs. Hardware (2023) #5 1:25 variant cover by Demetrius Dawkins