Sean Miller is fine going with a smaller roster. Photo by Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

Arizona Wildcats basketball coach Sean Miller has two available scholarships to give. He could very well just keep those in his pocket.

Arizona officially added Kansas transfer big man Zach Peters to the roster Friday, bringing the team’s scholarship total to 11, although it’s still unclear if he’ll be eligible in the 2013-14 season. Either way, Miller seems content with the roster.

“Just because you have that number 13 sitting there, I don’t know if it’s as important as it once was,” Miller said of the scholarship limit.

“In fact, to me, it’s more intelligent that anyone you add to your program, they have to be a contributor and there has to be a reason you do it. You don’t want to fill in the scholarship void just to add depth because that person you’re talking about will end up leaving.

“For us, there’s a chance we won’t add anyone.”

Of course, you never know.

Arizona wasn’t looking to add someone like Peters, but then freshman big man Grant Jerrett left early for a shot at the NBA and sophomore post Angelo Chol transferred to San Diego State.

Miller said he will continue to monitor the transaction wire this summer, although he said there wasn’t a particular type of player who would draw his interest (a hot-shooting wing perhaps?).

“It won’t surprise me if there’s 50 to 75 more transfers this summer from across the country. I think it’s over 400 right now. If the right one would be there, then certainly we have an available scholarship. But we’re not necessarily out there looking right now. I feel good about who we have returning.”

It used to be that coaches spent more time actually coaching a player than recruiting him. But at this level of college basketball, staffs can spend a few years recruiting a prospect, only to have him on the court for one season.

“For us, to carry 13 scholarship players isn’t as smart now as it once was,” Miller said. “When you have a number of different people that are looking to do things, carrying less is probably more healthy so that you can deliver on those expectations.”

Peters left Kansas during his freshman year last fall after suffering multiple concussions. He didn’t play last season for the Jayhawks, but he averaged 5.0 points and 6.3 rebounds during a summer exhibition tour in Europe.

Zach Peters

Peters is about 6-10, 240.

“He’s a very skilled player,” Miller said.

“One of the things that I’m excited about it is he’s not small. He has a physical-ness about him, but he can move around on the perimeter, he can shoot the basketball and he can pass from the high post. He gives us the skill level that maybe we had with Grant moving forward.

“I think he is a really good fit for how we play and vice versa.”

Peters will arrive at school this summer. The NCAA will have to decide on his eligibility for the upcoming season; he and Arizona will make the case that his medical condition was beyond his control and forced his withdraw from Kansas, and therefore he shouldn’t have to establish the typical year-in-residence before transfers are allowed to play.

He might end up with three seasons of eligibility at Arizona, or four.

“I certainly think he has a chance,” Miller said of Peters being ruled eligible for 2013-14.

“Now that he’s healthy, he regained, in his mind, that thirst to be a college basketball player and pursue his dreams. It just so happened that the timing of that coincided with us (looking for a big man). I don’t think we could have added a more quality player for what we need.”

Arizona’s 2013-14 roster

*Walk-on

Sean Miller reacts as Michael Irving signals for the technical foul vs. UCLA. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

By George Schroeder
USA TODAY

As the Pac-12 attempts to repair credibility in the wake of a controversy that cost the league’s coordinator of basketball officials his job, it might also need to repair its relationship with one of its highest-profile programs. Correspondence between Arizona and Pac-12 officials suggests relations already were strained before the Pac-12 Tournament, and that tensions might linger despite Ed Rush’s ouster.

Documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports from Arizona in response to a public records request show a flurry of communication and continuing disagreement over the circumstances surrounding the Wildcats’ two-point loss to UCLA in a tournament semifinal on March 15.

That was the game that led to a public reprimand and $25,000 fine for Arizona coach Sean Miller, both for his postgame confrontation with referee Michael Irving and for a subsequent outburst near a Pac-12 staff member minutes later. Two weeks later, CBSSports.com broke a story alleging that Rush, the league’s coordinator of officials, had promised cash and travel awards if officials called a technical foul on Miller or ejected him.

The documents show Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne and Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott had discussed the allegations against Rush much earlier. According to emails, the two men disagreed whether it and other factors should have been considered a mitigating circumstance in punishing Miller, who was incensed over a technical foul he was assessed by Irving with 4:37 left in the game against UCLA.

In an email March 17, Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne asked Scott to consider a “condescending” email sent March 6 by Rush regarding Miller’s request for review of questionable calls in an earlier loss to UCLA. Days later, after learning of the allegations that Rush had offered $5,000 or a trip to Cancun to game officials to target Miller during the conference tournament, Byrne asked Scott to waive the $25,000 fine.

The commissioner declined. In a memorandum dated March 26, Scott wrote that more than a week since the public reprimand, he had “not seen any signs of contrition from Coach Miller” and had “not received any communication from him, nor have the official and staff member who were the targets of his profanity-laced outbursts.”

Scott added that an evaluation of the Wildcats’ semifinal loss to UCLA “reveals a normal number of missed calls” and enclosed Rush’s review of the officiating, which included the notation that the double-dribble call that led to Miller’s technical foul was “NOT correct.” Scott also wrote that he was “troubled by my impression that you condone Coach Miller’s behavior or, at the very least, fail to adequately appreciate its seriousness.”

Byrne forwarded Scott’s memorandum to Arizona president Ann Weaver Hart, who wrote back: “We need to let this go now. You did your best.”

Pac-12: Rush was joking

Six days later, allegations of Rush’s inducement to officials went public. Rush told ESPN his comments were made in jest. Scott said a review by the conference’s head of enforcement indicated the same, and that Rush was jokingly referring to all of the Pac-12 coaches, not just Miller. Still, Rush resigned April 4. Five days later, the Pac-12 announced it would commission an independent review.

Scott declined to comment to USA TODAY Sports pending the results of the review. Although he said the Pac-12′s executive committee has not yet hired an investigator, he said the report should be completed before the league’s scheduled board meeting in June.

Miller did not return an interview request made through a school spokesman.

Byrne also declined comment. But after Rush’s resignation, Byrne told the Arizona Daily Star, “there was a deep concern within our peer institutions as well” as Arizona. He also tweeted: “Although u never want someone to lose their job, this is a good step for the Pac-12 in restoring confidence in the bball officiating program.”

In a memorandum to Byrne dated March 22, Scott followed up on earlier discussions of the allegations against Rush. He wrote that Pac-12 director of enforcement Ron Barker had interviewed Rush and officials who had worked Arizona’s quarterfinal and semifinal games.

“We have concluded that Ed Rush did make reference to rewards like money and travel (different people remembered different phrases) for being stricter with Pac-12 coaches and making them remain in the coaching box,” Scott wrote. “However, based on the interviews, we have determined that these comments were made in jest and that the officials in the room recognized that they were not serious offers. … No official believed they would be awarded money or a trip if they actually disciplined a coach during the tournament.

“We also believe Ed Rush used inappropriate language and humor during these meetings. We have addressed this matter with him, and have initiated steps to ensure this does not happen again.”

On March 25, after the Wildcats had advanced to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, Rush emailed a one-paragraph note to Miller: “Sean, Congratulations to you and your staff AND all the best in LA. I am optimistically looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta. Ed Rush.”

There is no indication Miller replied to the email, which he forwarded without comment to Byrne.

The documents show Arizona officials felt relations between Miller and Rush were strained before the conference tournament. Among the emails was Miller’s request, sent by Arizona’s director of basketball operations Ryan Reynolds, for Rush’s review of 21 sequences from Arizona’s loss March 2 at UCLA. Rush questioned the number of issues raised by Miller and wrote that only two were missed calls. He dismissed most of the others with brief notes, including: “???? Do not see YOUR point.”

“Ed’s tone was condescending and one could assume that he was bothered by the request,” Byrne wrote March 17, noting it was “only the second time that we had brought an officiating call issue to Ed … and isn’t it part of Ed’s job to be the middle man between the officials and our coaches/programs? If this is the response Sean/we get when we bring an issue forward to Ed it does not give us a lot of confidence that we will be constructively listened to in the future.”

In his reply, Scott wrote: “I do not believe Ed was trying to be condescending with Ryan, and I will address his style with him to work on improvement in this area. He tells me he reached out to Coach Miller personally via telephone after the referenced e-mail exchange, and did not get a return phone call.”

Miller’s previous reprimand

The documents include a previously issued private letter of reprimand to Miller dated Jan. 11, 2013, for a postgame incident after Arizona’s loss at Oregon the previous night. Scott wrote that Miller “confronted the game officials in the tunnel after the game,” complaining about a no-call on the final play, and that Miller’s actions “included pointing at the official and profanity.” The commissioner warned: “Please be aware that any further incidents … will result in enhanced penalties.”

Two months later, on March 17, before the public reprimand for Miller’s actions following the March 15 loss to UCLA, Scott wrote to Byrne with an offer to waive the $25,000 fine under the following conditions:

If Miller wrote a letter of apology to an unnamed Pac-12 staff member who was standing in the tunnel when the coach made what Scott described as a “profanity-laced verbal attack.”

If Miller agreed to meet with Rush and Scott by the end of April.

If the Arizona athletic department would “commit to developing a plan to work with Coach Miller on his conduct and reaction to situations like this, to ensure these incidents do not happen again.”

Miller declined to apologize and Scott handed down the fine.

On March 29, Miller wrote letters to Scott and to the unnamed Pac-12 staff member. He apologized to the Pac-12 staff member, saying his outburst was directed “toward a Pac-12 banner hanging in the tunnel area near our locker room.” Miller wrote that he didn’t notice the representative, but added: “I understand that you were shaken by this incident, for that that I am truly sorry. Please know that my actions were not directed towards you in any way.”

Miller’s letter to Scott, which accompanied a $25,000 check for payment of the fine, did not include an apology. Noting Scott’s earlier proposal to Byrne of a meeting between Scott, Rush and Miller, the coach closed his letter with:

“After learning more details from numerous sources about ‘The Meeting’ between Ed Rush and several Pac-12 officials in Las Vegas prior to our semi-final tournament game with UCLA, I do not believe this meeting is in my best interest moving forward.”

Michael Jordan had a disagreement with Ed Rush during the NBA Finals in 1996. Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images Sport

By Doug Haller
azcentral sports

Ed Rush admits he made a mistake. The former Pac-12 Coordinator of Men’s Basketball Officiating said something in jest at the wrong time in front of the wrong audience. In the end, it cost him his job. On Thursday, amid national criticism, Rush resigned.

“When I finally realized that all this noise was really kind of getting in (Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott’s) way of doing business I said to him, ‘If this ever becomes a situation where it’s very difficult for you to manage … I’ll move on,” Rush told azcentral sports. “We talked about it, and it just seemed like the right time.”

This week, CBSSports reported the Pac-12 had investigated Rush for targeting Arizona coach Sean Miller during the Pac-12 Tournament. According to the report, Rush held a meeting and offered referees $5,000 or a trip to Cancun for giving Miller a technical foul or ejecting him.

The next day referee Michael Irving hit Miller with a technical foul after a controversial play with 4:37 left in a semifinal contest against UCLA. The Wildcats lost by two points. Miller told reporters after the game that all he did was yell, “He touched the ball,” claiming he used no profanity.

Two days later, the Pac-12 reprimanded and fined Miller $25,000 for confronting an official after the game and for “acting inappropriately” toward a conference staff member.

In a telephone interview, Rush, a Phoenix resident, provided his version of events:

*He said he met with “six or seven” referees after Arizona’s quarterfinal tournament win over Colorado, a meeting that lasted no longer than 10 minutes. “It was an extremely difficult game to work,” Rush said. “The guys did a good job, but they did not meet standards as far as bench decorum.”

Rush said the NCAA had emphasized “bench decorum” all season, including leading up to conference tournaments. In the meeting, he told the officials they needed to do a better job in this area, keeping coaches near the bench and not on the court. Tell them directly, he said. “Coach your teams, don’t be on the court.”

“There was a feeling of disappointment, a little bit of what I would call tension in the room,” Rush said. “They’re trying to be at the top of their game during this tournament. They’re thinking about the NCAA Tournament, so in an effort to kind of relieve the tension I made a statement which was rather absurd, but was totally in jest. I said, ‘So guys, what will it take? Would you take like a trip to Cancun or would somebody like $5,000? Then everybody started laughing. … We were bantering. It was just to lighten the mood. Then I was leaving and I said, ‘By the way, my wife is not going to let me spend that kind of money on you guys anyway so you’re going to have to figure it out. Have a good night.’ And I left.”

Asked if he had any doubt the officials knew he was joking, Rush said, “There was no question in my mind.”

In a pregame meeting the next day, before the Arizona-UCLA game, Rush said he reminded the officials one more time: “Take care of the bench situation.”

*Before the technical foul, Rush said both Miller and former UCLA coach Ben Howland had been warned twice to stay off the court – once before the game and once during it. Still, he didn’t think Miller deserved the technical.

First, Rush said the officials made the wrong call. They had whistled senior guard Mark Lyons for a turnover when in fact a UCLA defender had touched the ball, making it a live situation, just as Miller had argued. Secondly, Rush thought the technical foul was whistled too quickly.

“What (Miller) said was correct, but because we had these warnings there was a reaction,” Rush said. “Unfortunately, it was an overreaction and we called a technical foul.”

*Rush said he has nothing against Miller. He thinks Miller’s a “tremendous coach.” Plus, he said they both have similar roots, coming from the East Coast.

He said he never specifically singled out Miller in any meeting, which he claims is consistent with the Pac-12′s investigation. After the Colorado-Arizona contest, he told officials that both Miller and Colorado coach Tad Boyle needed bench warnings, not just Miller. He did, however, point out that the Pac-12 puts together videos each week during the season for education purposes. Each consists of about 15 plays and a recent video featured Miller.

“We had a situation during the year – it happened to be Sean – of a bench situation that was not addressed and it should’ve been,” Rush said. “It was Arizona’s game against Arizona State (in Tempe) and we put that on our Web site as an example. He was very aggressive that game with two of the officials. They eventually warned him, but it cried out for a much earlier warning.”

Asked if he thought Miller got away with too much this season, Rush said no conference coach stood out in one way or another.

*This week, Rush has been accused of creating an “atmosphere of fear” among officials. ESPN.com, quoting unidentified Pac-12 officials, reported he threw a boxed lunch in anger during a Pac-12 Tournament meeting. Rush said he made changes during his time with the Pac-12. The best assignments were given out based on performance rather than seniority, and this rubbed some the wrong way.

As for the boxed lunch? “That is a stone-faced lie,” Rush said, adding that he used the lunch as a visual while trying to demonstrate a rule.

He has one regret.

“From my standpoint, I definitely made a mistake,” Rush said. “I said the wrong thing. It was inappropriate. Even though it was in jest, it was the wrong audience at the wrong time. But I come from an orientation where there’s a code. It’s unwritten but it’s pretty dag-gone strong. I learned way back early in my career that whatever goes on in the locker room amongst men, stays there. And if you have an issue, you take care of it within that group. … I didn’t realize that there was at least one (at the meeting) that didn’t know the code.”

On TucsonCitizen.com:

No apology, but Pac-12′s Ed Rush resigns after comments about Sean Miller

Sean Miller reacts as Michael Irving signals for the technical foul vs. UCLA. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Ed Rush’s last decision with the Pac-12 was the correct call.

Rush, at the center of the “bounty” scandal involving Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller, has saved the Pac-12 and commissioner Larry Scott further embarrassment by announcing his resignation Thursday afternoon as the league’s coordinator of men’s basketball officiating.

“I would like to thank the Pac-12 for giving me the opportunity to lead a group of officials who are working so hard to make the Pac-12 the best officiated conference in college basketball,” Rush said in a statement released by the conference.

“My first and highest concerns have always been the integrity of the game of basketball and the honor of the craft of officiating. While I am proud of what we have accomplished, my decision to resign reflects my strong desire to see the Pac-12 officiating program continue to grow and thrive.”

It would have been nearly impossible for that to happen under Rush’s watch after Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com broke the story this week that Rush twice told officials at the Pac-12 tournament he was offering $5,000 or a trip to Cancun for anyone who gave Miller a technical foul or threw him out of the game.

Late in a Pac-12 semifinal against UCLA, Miller was indeed slapped with a technical foul in the now-famous “He touched the ball” incident. Scott told ESPN this week that official Michael Irving T’d up Miller for leaving the coaching box after previous warnings.

Still, such a call to make — or not make — is well within the discretion of the official … and everyone has been left to wonder what kind of influence Rush’s comments had on the officiating crew.

Scott said an internal investigation found Rush’s words “completely inappropriate” albeit in jest. Scott — against a wave of national (and local) objection — spent the past 72 hours saying Rush didn’t commit a fireable offense, although he left the door open for further review of Rush’s job status at the end of the school year.

Rush saved Scott the trouble and a couple of months of bad press.

Andy Katz wrote that ESPN talked to number of officials in the room at the time of Rush’s comments about Miller. Wrote Katz:

“Ed Rush doesn’t joke,” one official said. “To say it was a joke is absolutely not true. If he meant it in jest, then he had time to correct it the second day and he didn’t. And the only coach he mentioned was Sean Miller.”

Officials confirmed that Rush went into the meeting before the UCLA-Arizona game and was banging a chair up and down, demanding the officials perform at a higher level. And then, according to the officials, Rush hurled a boxed lunch against the wall after the game, nearly hitting one of the officials in the head.

“It was absolutely a form of bullying,” one official said.

Rush, a longtime NBA official who also served as director of officiating in that league, had held the Pac-12 job since May 2012. He had been a consultant to the league since 2007.

“I want to express my appreciation for the great contribution Ed made to basketball officiating for the conference during his tenure, particularly in the area of training and the cultivation of new officiating talent,” Scott said in a statement. “All of us at the conference thank him for his years of hard work, and we wish him well.”

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne, in radio appearances in Tucson and Phoenix this week, chose his words carefully about the situation, mostly putting the burden on Scott to explain the circumstances.

“You express your very real concerns and go from there,” Byrne told 910-AM in Phoenix on his discussions with the Pac-12.

After Thursday’s announcement, Byrne tweeted: “Although u never want someone to lose their job, this is a good step for the Pac-12 in restoring confidence in the bball officiating program.”

True. Rush’s status and questions about his agenda would have raged again as the 2013-14 season approached. That is why his departure — whether forced or not, and at least a few days too late — was the right thing.

Well, mostly.

Has anyone yet heard an apology?

Related:

The Portland Tribune: Ed Rush on resignation: ‘It had to be done’

Aaron Gordon prepares to make his announcement Tuesday. Photo via Twitter, @McDAAG

RELATED: Five-star recruit Aaron Gordon commits to the Arizona Wildcats

For the second consecutive season, Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller will be bringing in two McDonald’s All-Americans in the same recruiting class.

Miller signed Mickey D’s All-Americans Brandon Ashley and Grant Jerrett in last year’s recruiting class, and he added Aaron Gordon to the commitment list Tuesday morning after signing Rondae Hollis-Jefferson in the fall.

Until last season, Arizona had never brought in multiple McDonald’s All-Americans in the same class.

Hassan Adams and Ndudi Ebi each signed in the 2002 class, but Ebi went straight to the pros. Mike Bibby and Loren Woods were both McDonald’s All-Americans in 1996, but Woods didn’t arrive in Tucson until after his transfer from Wake Forest.

This is the 36th year of the McDonald’s All-American Game, and 21 players from the game have signed with or played at Arizona.

Here is the full list:

Note: Two other McDonald’s All-Americans signed with Arizona but went straight to the pros – Ndudi Ebi (2002 All-American) and Brandon Jennings (2008).

Aaron Gordon commits to Arizona- wow, what a loaded front court! Sean Miller continues to get it done in Tucson. Great coach,great recruiter

— Steve Kerr (@SteveKerrTNT) April 2, 2013

Sean Miller nearly removed his jacket after he was called for a technical foul against UCLA. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Ed Rush-Sean Miller story, broken Monday afternoon by Jeff Goodman at CBSSports.com, is making the national rounds this morning, with the consensus being what I wrote last night — Rush must go.

Here is a sampling of what others across the nation are saying about Rush’s supposed bounty on Miller at the Pac-12 tournament:

* * *

Former college basketball head coach Seth Greenberg talked about the Rush incident on ESPN’s SportsCenter this morning. He is a partial transcript of his comments, starting with finding fault about the concept of targeting a certain coach:

“First of all, from game to game, you’re supposed to have a clean slate. If you’re have a problem with a coach, before the game you address it with the coach and you have a clean slate and you move on,” Greenberg said.

“They put a bounty on Sean Miller. Plain and simple. If it’s brought up in a pregame meeting with officials, you’re sending a message — whether it is a subliminal message or a hard, true message. … To me, it’s appalling.”

Greenberg said he has talked to Miller about the incident as a friend.

“To me, what created that scenario was the message that was sent in the pregame meeting — ‘You know what, we have our chance now,’” Greenberg said.

“Larry Scott is a terrific commissioner … but they blew it. They kicked the call,” Greenberg added about the Pac-12 response. “They have to let (Rush) go.”

Ed Rush put a bounty on a coach, cheapenedintegrity of the game and in a way fixed the game. He needs to be fired.

— Seth Greenberg (@SethOnHoops) April 2, 2013

* * *

Andy Glocker of SI.com wrote:

“The Pac-12 simply cannot have this. Larry Scott cannot enable this. He’s too savvy a businessman to believe he can brush this under the rug and have Pac-12 basketball operate under a cloud of suspicion. Rush may very well have been joking, but the impact of his words, both on the referees who report to him and to the fans who watch his league, is anything but a joke. The only joke would be if the league does nothing about this.”

* * *

Pac-12 response is tone-deaf. Rush specifically targeted one coach, not enforcement of a rule. Rush knows better, and should be fired.

— Jay Bilas (@JayBilas) April 2, 2013

* * *

Vince Grippi of the Spokane Spokesman-Review chipped in with this:

“If Rush, even in jest, offered a reward for a technical on Miller as a way to teach the conference’s coaches a lesson in bench decorum (and no is denying he did), then Scott and the Pac-12 have a problem. A very long time ago a college athletic administrator told me perception is more important than reality in college athletics and he was right – in a lot of different ways. The important one here is simply. The appearance of fairness is gone. The perception will always be the Pac-12 is out to get Miller – “hey, they offered a bounty on him!” – or, if a call goes UA’s way, that the conference knows it screwed up and is trying to make amends. There is only one way to fix this. And it is the right thing to do. Rush’s contract cannot be renewed (according to Goodman, he works on a one-year agreement).”

* * *

im waiting for the PAC-12 to reveal its just an April fools joke…

— Solomon Hill (@kingxsolo) April 1, 2013

* * *

Patrick Rishe, a contributor at Forbes.com wrote:

“In this case, the right thing is to hold a press conference this week, admonish Ed Rush publicly, and then either levy a substantial fine ($100,000), a one-year suspension, and/or simply fire Mr. Rush.

“Mr. Rush may indeed have intended to simply make an off-hand innocuous jab at Sean Miller. But because the story has become public, and because of the sports environment we live in today which has been shaped in recent years by dishonesty in sports including a prominent cheating scandal in the NBA, the last thing the newly formed Pac-12 needs is a Tim Donaghy-sized black eye.”

* * *

The Dallas Morning News revives the quote about Rush from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in 2002:

“Ed Rush might have been a great ref, but I wouldn’t hire him to manage a Dairy Queen. His interest is not in the integrity of the game or improving the officiating.”

* * *

Larry Scott is the smartest conference commissioner in the country. He knows a mistake when he sees it. Ed Rush will be out by week’s end.

— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) April 2, 2013

* * *

Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com had this to say:

“It doesn’t really matter whether Rush was serious or joking when he said what he said. All that matters is that he said what he said, and that college basketball fans now know he said what he said. Consequently, that’s the scope through which everything will be viewed going forward, and it’s precisely why it’s ridiculous for the Pac-12 to go forward with Rush.

“The league is just begging for problems.

“Why do that?”

* * *

Devastating news about Ed Rush head of PAC 12 officials. U trust refs to b fair objective n keep integrity of game. No place for this.#NCAA

— Wally Szczerbiak (@wallyball) April 2, 2013

Sean Miller reacts as Michael Irving signals for a technical foul. Photo by Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Pac-12 should fire Ed Rush, the league’s coordinator of basketball officials.

In a stunning story, Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com reported Monday that Rush — in jest or not — told a group of referees at the Pac-12 tournament in Las Vegas that he was offering $5,000 or a trip to Cancun if someone gave Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller a technical foul or throw him out the game.

Goodman reported that official Michael Irving was in the room; it was Irving who delivered the controversial technical foul against Miller late in a semifinal game against UCLA.

This isn’t to say that Rush’s comments were to be taken literally, or that Irving interpreted them that way, but it’s easy to see how the integrity of Pac-12 officiating has been compromised.

Rush, in his position, has to be beyond reproach and wholly accountable. To even suggest a targeting of a particular coach indicates, at the least, there is a lack of professionalism in a job that demands professionalism perfection. No perception of bias should be tolerated.

After this, how is Miller — how is any coach in the league? — supposed to trust a call?

It is Rush’s job to maintain the integrity of the process of officiating … and he has blown it.

Arizona athletic director Greg Byrne released a statement Monday:

“On Sunday, March 17, we first learned of the allegation of the events that occurred during the Conference Tournament. Due to the serious implications, we immediately shared our concerns with Commissioner Scott and the Conference office. We know that an investigation was held and any further issue is a matter for the Pac-12 office.”

So far, conference commissioner Larry Scott – a smart and careful caretaker of the league’s image — has under-reacted.

“I can confirm that following the Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Tournament, we received a complaint that Pac-12 Coordinator of Officials Ed Rush offered game officials inappropriate incentives for being stricter with Pac-12 coaches,” he said in a statement.

“I consider the integrity of our officiating program to be of the highest importance and immediately ordered a review of the matter. Based on the review, we have concluded that while Rush made inappropriate comments that he now regrets during internal meetings that referenced rewards, he made the comments in jest and the officials in the room realized they were not serious offers. Following our review, we have discussed the matter with Rush, taken steps to ensure it does not happen again, and communicated our findings to all of our officials.”

That’s not enough.

Imagine how toxic the atmosphere must be within the Pac-12 officiating crew that someone felt compelled to step forward, albeit anonymously, to talk to Goodman. The source, who called Rush “a bully,” said the technical was out of character for Irving.

“He’s a really good ref and manages situations without using technicals. It was absolutely because of what was said in the meeting. There’s no doubt in my mind. It’s a bad position to be put in,” the source told Goodman.

“As a basketball referee, it’s a horrible position to be put in by your supervisor. If you don’t do anything, you probably won’t get any good games down the road — or you may not get any games at all. That leaves us in a tough spot.”

The Seattle Times reported that veteran official Dick Cartmell, who has worked five Final Fours, recently submitted his resignation from the Pac-12. He told the Times he had “personal differences with the direction of the officiating program.”

After the UCLA incident, the Pac-12 fined Miller $25,000 for his postgame conduct, citing words he had with an official on the court immediately after the loss and for acting inappropriately toward a conference staff member in the hallway of the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Miller truly may have earned his fine.

Miller wasn’t fined for his postgame “He touched the ball” press conference as he explained what he said to the officials after a traveling call on Mark Lyons. Miller contended a UCLA player touched the ball while Lyons lost control before regaining possession. If UCLA touched the ball, there would be no traveling.

Miller said he didn’t swear and didn’t get an on-court explanation for the technical.

“If I cuss and I’m out of control and I’ve been warned, shame on me,” Miller said after the game. “But when I say, ‘He touched the ball, he touched the ball’ … because quite frankly I thought the two of them could have maybe gotten together and explained that, in fact, he did touch the ball.”

It was a questionable technical foul, made exponentially more questionable by Rush’s comments about Miller in two meetings before the UCLA game.

Rush, a longtime NBA official who also served as chief of officials in that league, was elevated into his current job within the Pac-12 in May 2012. Now, he has squandered the trust that comes with the position.

He has created a perception of bias, and the Pac-12 should do the right thing.

Scott should toss Rush out of the job.

You want five months of crowds at Arizona games chanting “ED RUSH PAID YOU” at the refs when there’s a debatable call?

— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) April 2, 2013

LaQuinton Ross hits the game-winning shot. Photo by Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — This is the way it ends. This is the way it always ends when you’re not cutting down the nets. In a quiet locker room, elbows on your knees, hands on your head, eyes becoming red.

The end hit the Arizona Wildcats suddenly on Thursday night, with a 3-point shot like a dagger from Ohio State’s LaQuinton Ross with 2.1 seconds left. From 11 points up, to 10 points down, to a tie game on the final possession … to heartbreak.

And so Grant Jerrett sat in the Los Angeles Kings locker room at Staples Center, white towel covering his face, hands on his head, struck by the finality of a 73-70 loss to Ohio State in the Sweet 16. Fellow freshman post player Kaleb Tarczewski spoke to Jerrett’s right. The team’s other freshman post, Brandon Ashley, conducted interviews to his left.

For nearly 20 minutes, Jerrett barely moved. How many times he must have replayed the final, fateful play.

“No one died,” he said, when he finally lifted the towel and spoke to reporters for a couple of minutes, “but when you play basketball and you really love it, it hurts a lot.”

Ohio State’s Aaron Craft, who pulled up for the game-winning 3-point shot against Iowa State on Sunday, had the ball, alone up top, after Mark Lyons had tied the game at 70 with a three-point play with 21.8 seconds left. Nick Johnson was guarding Craft, looking around for screens, seconds ticking away.

With about six seconds left, Craft made a move, dribbling to his right. Ross, guarded by Jerrett, set a screen. Kind of. And that’s when the defensive breakdown happened.

To that point, Arizona had been switching on every screen.

“I felt he didn’t really set the screen,” Johnson said. “He set a lousy, little screen. I felt like I got over it pretty easily.”

Jarrett made an initial move to switch to Craft as Ross rolled off the screen (non-screen) into open space behind the 3-point arc on the left side of the court. Craft whipped a pass back to him and Jarrett couldn’t recover, even fully extended as Ross rose and released and splashed the ball through the net. Jarrett’s body went limp as the game-winner found a home.

“Honestly,” Jarrett said, “I’ll take the blame for it.”

The communication error helped Ohio State end a thrilling tug-of-war between two college basketball powers exchanging haymakers for 40 minutes. The Wildcats, looking every inch of a Final Four team, surged to a 33-22 lead, before going scoreless for 7 minutes, 23 seconds spanning halftime.

Ohio State led by 53-43 with 11:02 left after a 31-10 run.

“They came out in the second half and smacked us right in the face,” said Arizona senior Kevin Parrom said. “We responded kind late and that’s the game.”

It would have been had Solomon Hill not played with the ferocity of a senior not wanting to see his career end — he scored nine consecutive points for the Wildcats in the second half — and if Lyons hadn’t been clutch. He scored seven points in the final 80 seconds.

It was all prelude to another shining moment for Ohio State, the Ross Shot that followed the Craft Shot against Iowa State.

“Players make big plays. Teams make big plays,” Arizona coach Sean Miller said.

“The pressure of the moment, the Sweet 16, going to the Elite Eight, two guys go on one. Whether he made the shot or not, I think we all live with it when it’s challenged and we do what we’re supposed to do. But part of the reason he had such a great look at the end, there were two guys who went with the ball.”

Arizona ends at 27-8, so close to a game against ninth-seeded Wichita State with a spot in the Final Four on the line. The Wildcats, who rose to No. 3 in the polls with a 14-0 start before scuffling through part of the conference play, were playing their best at the end of the season.

That’s what you want, right? It was a 50-50 game against Ohio State, neither team perfect, but each able to think that it should leave the arena victorious. In defeat, Miller’s message to the team was this: Hold your heads high.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our team,” Miller said. “I leave this season with no regrets.”

But the Wildcats do leave. This is the way it ends.

Grant Jerrett reacts after Arizona’s final desperation pass was knocked away. Photo by Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports

Sean Miller meets with the media the day before the Sweet 16 matchup against Ohio State. Photo by Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

The Arizona Wildcats play Ohio State in a Sweet 16 game Thursday from Los Angeles, and here are 16 numbers to help get you ready:

4 — Ranking of the West on anybody’s list of the toughest of the four NCAA regionals. “If it’s the worst regional, good, great. I’m glad I’m here,” said Arizona coach Sean Miller. “I mean, the thing about the tournament is nobody looks back and says, ‘Boy, what an easy road or hard road.’ You either advanced or you didn’t.”

7.1 — Percent shooting before the first media timeout for Arizona’s first two NCAA opponents (1 of 14). Those quick starts have snuffed the upset hopes of two underdogs and are the reason why the Wildcats have yet to trail in the tournament.

10 — The minimum number of points that Ohio State will win by in both games at the West regional, as predicted by Myron Medcalf of ESPN.com.

He writes: “I just think the Buckeyes are two steps above the remaining teams in the West Region. Check the stats. Ohio State has been the Big Ten’s best team overall for more than a month. It has the leadership of Aaron Craft and Deshaun Thomas. The Buckeyes aren’t a two-man show, though. LaQuinton Ross, Shannon Scott and others have been crucial contributors, too. The Buckeyes are playing solid defense. And they’ve been one of America’s toughest teams for a lengthy stretch. Ohio State won’t have many struggles at Staples Center.”

It is worth noting he also picked the Pac-12 to go 0-5 in its opening games last week. The league went 3-2 and has two teams (Arizona, Oregon) in the Sweet 16.

10.5 — Turnovers per game for Ohio State, which ranks as the eighth-best mark in the country. Point guard Aaron Craft is a superb floor general who doesn’t often make silly mistakes with the ball. Ohio State probably won’t give up anything easy, so the Wildcats’ offense is going to have to be at max efficiency in the half-court.

12-2-1 — Miller’s record against the spread in his past 15 NCAA Tournament games, per The Sporting News. Can’t say he doesn’t get his teams ready for big games.

14 — Years it had been since Arizona had a player who compiled more than 100 assists and 60 steals in the same season. Jason Terry (159/80) did it in 1998-99; Nick Johnson (111/63) surpassed those marks this season.

Deshaun Thomas awaits Solomon Hill. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

19.7 — Scoring average of Ohio State forward Deshaun Thomas, who will be the most gifted offensive player on the court Thursday. He’s 6-7, 215 pounds, capable of playing inside and outside. Arizona’s Solomon Hill has similar size and mismatch ability, too, and Hill says he’ll get the primary defensive assignment for what should be a great head-to-head battle. Thomas made 5 of 7 3-point shots in his first two NCAA Tournament games this season.

Said Thomas of Hill: “He’s a mismatch nightmare out there at 6-7, long, can play the post, can shoot the three. He’s a great player.”

28 — Combined margin by which Arizona outscored Belmont and Harvard, two vertically challenged teams, in the paint last week. Those easy buckets will be in limited supply against the physical Buckeyes, even when they go with a small lineup that features 6-7 Deshaun Thomas at center.

39.5 — Defensive field goal percentage allowed by Ohio State, which probably will be the best defensive team the Cats have seen this season. Miller credits point guards Aaron Craft and Shannon Scott, who often are in the lineup together, creating a fearsome duo of perimeter defense. “Those two guys, they really hawk the ball,” he said. “It’s like having two shut down cornerbacks in football. It makes the game easier for the rest of the defense.”

43 — Margin of victory for Ohio State in the only other basketball meeting between the schools. The previous meeting also was in Los Angeles, for the Bruin Classic, on Dec. 29, 1971. OSU Hall of Famer Allan Hornyak poured in 27 points in a 90-47 victory. The sixth-ranked Buckeyes advanced in the tourney to play a highly anticipated game against Bill Walton-led UCLA but it wasn’t a contest. The No. 1 Bruins cruised 79-53 en route to an undefeated season.

44.2 — Percent chance of Arizona beating Ohio State, according to Nate Silver’s blog on the NYTimes.com. He gives the Wildcats a 1.8 percent chance of winning it all, up from 0.7 percent before the tournament.

60 — Minutes, more or less, that Miller talked to Ohio State coach Thad Matta — whom Miller calls his best friend — when he was considering leaving Xavier to take the Arizona job.

“I stepped outside of a restaurant. I came back in, and my wife said, ‘What is he going to do?’” Matta recalled.

“And I said, ‘I have no idea. I’ve never seen a guy jump from one side of the fence to the other as many times as he did.’ I think the thing that intrigued him was Arizona is one of the, if not the, top jobs on the West Coast. You’ve got your UCLAs, your Gonzagas, Washington. I know programs are up and coming now, but I think that was something that he felt pretty strong about in terms of just the reputation of what Coach Olson had built there.”

63.3 percent — Shooting percentage of Arizona freshman center Kaleb Tarczewski (31 of 49) over the past 10 games. He is averaging 8.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in that span. “Kaleb is really coming along. Sometimes I wish we could do a better job of getting him the ball as he progressed,” Miller said. “He’s such a great kid and teammate. Sometimes he’s open and he would like to get the ball but he doesn’t, and it may bother him inside but it doesn’t show.”

Question is: When Ohio State goes with its small lineup, which has been so effective lately, will Miller match up by pulling Tarczewski, who isn’t effective guarding a perimeter-oriented post player? Or will Miller keep Tarczewski in, look for the advantage on offense and make Matta react to him?

138 – Career games at Arizona for senior forward Solomon Hill. If the Cats advance to play Saturday, he’ll pass Kyle Fogg (139 games) at the top of UA’s career list.

245 — Career steals by Ohio State junior Aaron Craft, the most in school history. What Arizona doesn’t want to see is Craft forcing turnovers from Mark Lyons just across halfcourt that lead to quick points the other way (see, Jordan Adams, UCLA, Pac-12 tournament).

$350 — Dollars that Miller owes Matta from their time together as assistants at Miami of Ohio in the 1994-95 season. Miller took a job as an assistant at Pitt after the season.

“He had owed me about $350 for all the lunches the time he had forgotten his wallet,” Matta said. “So as he’s walking out, he has his box. He said, ‘Hey, here’s what I’m going to. Call adidas, and you can have my money. I didn’t spend it all, and it’s cost free. So he walks out the door; I called adidas.

“I said, ‘This is Sean Miller;’ they said, ‘You no longer work at Miami University.’ So he got me again. I’ve never been able to recover that money from him.”

The Wildcats huddle at midcourt during practice Wednesday. Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Aaron Craft is the “heart and soul” of Ohio State, says Arizona coach Sean Miller. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Grantland.com recently produced a 32-player bracket of the most hated college basketball players of the past 30 years.

Ohio State junior guard Aaron Craft was a No. 7 seed in the “2000s” region.

Arizona Wildcats coach Sean Miller has a different view.

“If he’s not one of your favorite players, then you don’t like college basketball,” Miller said Monday.

It depends. Perhaps he’s the Bobby Hurley of his day. A point guard who looks like you should be beating up and kicking around the court. Cheeks flushed, not big enough, bad jump shot. And then he finds a way to beat you, the gutty overachiever who seems almost too good to be true.

There is usually a pushback against a player who has that kind of narrative.

Easy to love. Easy to hate.

Like this guy:

“He has that Tim Tebow quality,” Miller said.

“Tebow, at Florida, it wasn’t just his performance on the field, but who he was as a person, the leadership that he provided, the competitive spirit he embodied. It seemed to spread through Florida’s football team, and Aaron Craft does the same thing for Ohio State basketball.”

Arizona will get a first-hand look at what he does Thursday in the Sweet 16 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The sixth-seeded Wildcats will take on the second-seeded Buckeyes starting at 4:47 p.m.

Craft is coming off one of those performances Sunday that adds to his legend while fueling the haters. He missed the front end of two one-and-one free throw situations and missed a jumper with 29 seconds left before hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 0.5 seconds remaining against Iowa State.

The play everyone is talking about is the charge he took underneath the basket with 1:41 remaining — when it should have been a blocking call.

“That’s a difficult call,” Miller said.

“The thing about Aaron Craft is he always puts his team in position to receive that call, because he draws charges, he plays so hard, he dives on the floor for loose balls. Guys like him, a lot of time, get that call because of who they are and because they have earned it through the course of the game.

“He always seems to be in the right place, so when he’s in that position late in the game, it’s as if he’s in the right place.”

Craft averages 10.0 points and 4.7 assists and 2.1 steals per game, leading an offense that usually moves much more seamlessly than Arizona’s. The Buckeyes average 10.5 turnovers per game. The Wildcats are at 13.1.

“It’s not about scoring points for him,” Miller said. “It’s about being a point guard.”

And about being a pest on defense.

“His defense is just contagious,” Miller said.

“He puts a lot of energy and emphasis on defense, and he’s also talented in that area. There are a lot of guys who want to play hard, but they’re limited. He has exceptional quickness and quick hands, and he’s strong. He anticipates really well.”

Arizona senior point guard Mark Lyons says the coaching staff tends to “big everybody up” as a way to motivate him for the challenge. Consider Craft appropriately bigged up.

“Part of what make makes him such a special basketball player is who he is as a person,” Miller said.

“He’s a 4.0 student. He’s an incredible leader, as a great of a competitor as you will find. … All the things that you can say to give him incredible respect, that’s where I’m at.”

Arizona fans will join the party, loving to hate Craft during the game. But if they still hate him after 7 p.m. Thursday, that means he will have won again.

Related from the News Journal: Defense is in Aaron Craft’s DNA

Aaron Craft battles for loose ball against Iowa State on Sunday. Photo by Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports