The NCAA's investigation into the Southern Miss men's basketball program formerly run by Donnie Tyndall has cost another coach his job, multiple sources told CBSSports.com.
That coach: Tyson Waterman
Waterman, a former player at Winthrop, spent last season as an assistant at Southeastern Louisiana. But sources told CBSSports.com that Waterman was recently forced to resign after refusing to fully cooperate with the NCAA's investigation into USM.
Waterman's connection to the case is rooted in the fact that he was previously the head coach at Believe Prep Academy in South Carolina -- where Shadell Millinghaus, Thaddeus Hall and LeRoy 'Truck' Fludd all attended before committing to Southern Miss in June 2013. According to sources, the NCAA requested that Waterman turn over his bank records because it believed the records were relevant to a potential violation related to Waterman receiving payment for the commitments of Millinghaus, Hall and Fludd.
Waterman's refusal to hand over his bank records was deemed a Level I violation.
That's what led to his removal from Southeastern Louisiana's staff, according to sources.
Southeastern Louisiana confirmed to CBSSports.com on Wednesday that Waterman is "no longer a member of Southeastern Louisiana's athletic department." The school offered no explanation. Waterman has been removed from the school's official website.
What's also interesting is how Waterman ended up at Southeastern Louisiana in the first place, and it's not hard to connect the dots considering Millinghaus, Hall and Fludd all failed to qualify academically after graduating from Believe Prep Academy. Millinghaus subsequently enrolled at USM as a non-qualifier while Hall and Fludd enrolled at Jones County Community College, which is, not coincidentally, only 22 miles from USM's campus. The Jones County coach at that time was Jay Ladner, who used Hall and Fludd to win the 2014 NJCAA championship, then left to become the head coach at Southeastern Louisiana. Not long after taking the Southeastern Louisiana job, Ladner hired Waterman, whom sources told CBSSports.com had helped place Hall and Fludd with Ladner a year earlier.
CBSSports.com's attempt to reach Waterman for comment was unsuccessful.
The NCAA last week formally charged Southern Miss with seven Level I violations after a lengthy investigation that led to Tennessee firing Tyndall in March. Adam Howard, Tyndall's former assistant at Morehead State, Southern Miss and Tennessee, was earlier forced to resign after sources told CBSSports.com he was essentially caught lying to NCAA investigators. Howard subsequently flipped on Tyndall, which sources said helped the NCAA build the case that ultimately led to Tyndall's termination at Tennessee.
Southern Miss has until Oct. 20, 2015 to respond to its notice of allegations.
The school -- and Tyndall -- probably won't be punished until 2016.
