STORRS, Conn. (AP) -The University of Connecticut said it will review a Yahoo! Sports report that the school broke NCAA rules when it recruited former basketball player Nate Miles.
Miles, a 6-7 guard from Toledo, Ohio, was given lodging, transportation, meals and representation by sports agent Josh Nochimson, and a UConn assistant coach knew about the relationship between the player and the agent at the time, Yahoo reported, citing interviews, documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and other sources.
Nochimson, considered a representative of UConn’s athletic interests by the NCAA, was prohibited from having contact with Miles or giving him anything of value, Yahoo reported.
Records also show that five UConn coaches called Nochimson and text-messaged him at least 1,565 times during a nearly two-year period before and after Miles’ recruitment in 2006 and early 2007. Head coach Jim Calhoun had 16 of those communications, Yahoo reported.
n released a statement Wednesday saying that when it began recruiting Miles, it consulted its outside counsel on NCAA matters, who worked with NCAA staff to examine everything about Miles’ amateur status.
“The NCAA’s Eligibility Center reviewed all information that it had concerning the student-athlete’s eligibility status and determined that he was eligible for his freshman year. The student-athlete departed from the university before ever participating in athletics competition,” the statement said.
The university, which said it released numerous public documents to Yahoo, said it is reviewing the article to determine whether action is required.
“The University takes very seriously its responsibilities of NCAA membership and will do all that is expected to follow up on any information related to possible NCAA rules violations,” the statement said.
The Huskies are in Arizona preparing for their NCAA Sweet 16 game against Purdue Thursday night. They were among the teams that were ranked No. 1 in basketball polls during the regular season, and are the No. 1 seed in the tournament’s West Regional.
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UConn said Yahoo’s story includes “no current student-athletes and no student-athlete who has ever competed for the institution.”
Nochimson did not return a message seeking comment Wednesday, while the NCAA declined to comment.
Yahoo reported that while NCAA rules allow only one phone call per month to a prospect or his family in the player’s junior year of high school, UConn exceeded that limit from late 2006 into 2007, which may be a major recruiting violation, Yahoo reported.
Former UConn assistant coach Tom Moore, now head coach at Quinnipiac, made three calls to Miles and 27 other calls to Miles’ guardian and a person Miles said was his uncle, all in December 2006, Yahoo reported.
Moore acknowledged to Yahoo Sports that he knew Nochimson had contacted Miles “a couple of times,” although the documents Yahoo obtained show pages and pages of phone and text message correspondence.
A Quinnipiac spokesman declined to comment Wednesday.
In its statement, UConn did not address the specific allegations regarding the phone calls and text messages.
Yahoo reported that Nochimson’s relationship with Miles began on Nov. 11, 2006, at a high school tournament in suburban Chicago, and that Nochimson and Moore knew each other from Nochimson’s days as a student manager for UConn basketball.
Miles play, Yahoo reported. Miles was introduced to Nochimson later that day, the report said.
Moore told Yahoo that he knew Miles and Nochimson were in contact after the game. Moore exchanged several text messages with both Miles and Nochimson on the nights of Nov. 11 and 12, 2006, Yahoo reported.
Miles committed to UConn about a week later.
Nochimson was considered by the NCAA to be a representative of UConn’s athletic interests and was prohibited from being involved in the recruiting process or contacting Miles or his family, Yahoo reported.
Nochimson also was the business manager and personal assistant for former UConn standout and current NBA star Richard Hamilton, having gone with Hamilton when he was drafted in 1999 by the Washington Wizards.
But Nochimson filed paperwork in June 2008 to decertify himself as an agent with the NBA Players Association, after Hamilton fired him and accused him of stealing more than $1 million.
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