The non-conference portion of the college basketball season is virtually over, and while there's essentially an off week of on-court play until conference play starts this weekend, there is plenty of news happening off the court. Here's all the latest that you need to know, including more fallout from the FBI investigation:
Lawyers argue FBI case should be dismissed
The lawyers for three men involved in the FBI investigation into corruption in college basketball (former NBA agent Christian Dawkins and former Adidas executives James Gatto and Merl Code) are arguing that the charges against their clients should be dropped because their actions didn't break any federal laws, according to ESPN's Mark Schlabach.
In a motion sent to U.S. District Court Judge Lewis A. Kaplan on Friday, attorneys for Adidas executives James Gatto and Merl Code and former NBA agent Christian Dawkins argue that the men can't be charged with wire fraud because, among other things, their alleged actions didn't defraud victims but actually helped them.
"The payments purportedly made by Defendants were not themselves unlawful," the defendants' lawyers wrote in a motion to dismiss. "It is not against the law to offer a financial incentive to a family to persuade them to send their son or daughter to a particular college. Such payments might, however, violate the rules of the NCAA. After expending enormous resources, the Government has strained to find any legal theory -- ultimately resorting to one that was directly rejected by a Federal Court of Appeals -- in order to transform NCAA rule violations into a conspiracy to commit federal wire fraud."
Gatto is accused of paying at least two top recruits in order to get them to commit to Adidas-sponsored schools, while Code served as a "right-hand man" for Gatto in his dealings with recruits.
Dawkins organized deals between Gatto, assistant coaches, and recruits. Along with former Louisville commit Brian Bowen, the player who was at the center of the scandal that got former Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino fired, Dawkins has been linked to three current NBA players.
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Texas guard Andrew Jones could return this week
Andrew Jones, the leading scorer for the Texas Longhorns, could return for Friday's game against Kansas after missing the last three weeks with a wrist injury, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports.
Texas guard Andrew Jones (wrist) will be a game-time decision for Friday's Big 12 opener against Kansas, per Shaka Smart.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) December 26, 2017
Texas went 3-1 without Jones, including a win over Alabama in their last outing.
Jones is averaging 15.3 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game so far this season.
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UConn the favorite for four-star 2019 forward?
Four-star forward Juwan Gary (Columbia, SC) has seen his stock rise in recent weeks, but the UConn Huskies appear to be trending up in his recruitment.
“Recruiting is going very good,” Gary told 247Sports. “UConn has been hitting me very very hard,” he added. “They texted me [last] Saturday after my last game, talking about my game and how I’ve progressed over the years. Last year, Jalek [Felton] was the key player of the team but this year it’s my team.
“[They're] making me a priority. Coming down to the school, usually they come down to the school and talk like, ‘hey how are you doing?’ Since the coach Kevin Ollie has been talking to my parents for a couple of weeks now, talking back and forth about how my grades have been looking, they’ve been looking at my transcript the other day."
Gary has already taken unofficial visits to Clemson, NC State, South Carolina, while Duke, Florida, Kansas, and Virginia Tech are all also recruiting him - though all seem to be trailing the Huskies.
The 6-foot-6, 200-pounder is ranked as the No. 9 small forward and No. 37 overall prospect in the 2019 class, according to the 247sports Composite.
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