Early Wednesday morning, in a stunning turn of events, the South Florida Bulls killed their deal with Steve Masiello, head coach of the Manhattan Jaspers and former Rick Pitino assistant, for him to be the next men's basketball head coach in Tampa. The deal was for 5 years, and potentially $1 Million a year.

The reason for the 'taking back' of the deal was that USF's search firm they had hired to find their next head coach, Eastman & Beaudine, found a 'discrepency' in Masiello's background check that must have quickly raised eyebrows. This flaw in his resume happened to be that there is a question of the validity of Steve Masiello's undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky, a school that he played at from '96 to '00. Apparently, according to the school, Masiello never graduated, although he must have came very close.

Masiello did one of two things, it seems. He either got confused by what happened during his so-called 'graduation' from Kentucky, and somehow just didn't get the degree by accident. Or, Masiello has flat-out lied all along, and has got away with it until now. From most media reports, it seems most likely that Masiello lied. It is a wonder that Manhattan hadn't realized that Masiello hadn't got his degree. A bachelor's degree is required by Manhattan, and many other schools across the country. Possibly, the background checks by whatever firm Manhattan used were not as thorough as Eastman & Beaudine's, a firm that has placed multiple high-class coaches in big-time positions across the country, like Scott Drew at Baylor and Gregg Marshall at Wichita State.

This isn't exactly going to cause turmoil in Tampa. You see, South Florida has a lot of potential. They're in a recruiting hotbed. Now that they finally kicked former head coach Stan Heath out the door, a guy that could never seem to get his team out of the muck, the opportunity is staring them in the face. Steve Masiello was one of the biggest coaching prospects in the country, and coaches Rick Pitino's style to a tee. Masterful gameplans are common in Masiello's system. You can't blame USF for desiring a coach of Masiello's caliber. And even though they didn't attain him because of this odd occurance, they will still be in the hunt for many other big-time coaches. A top name if Bob Hoffman, head coach of the Mercer Bears. But that is for another article...

This is, however, going to cause turmoil in Masiello's life. Masiello's Manhattan Jaspers were coming off a big year, starring NBA prospect George Beamon in quite the veteran team. Last week, Manhattan fell in an ultra-close loss to Masiello's former boss, Rick Pitino and his Louisville Cardinals in a heartbreaker. With all the talent leaving New York, Masiello was bound to jump ship for a bigger venue.

USF, as mentioned a bit ago, was the perfect chance for Masiello to succeed. However, not only has this 'discrepency' found by Eastman & Beaudine killed his chance at this big school, but it might have cost him his job at Manhattan if he were to wind up trying to stay. He is currently under a 'leave of absence' from the head coaching position from the school. The school's spokesman said Wednesday that if it is surely found out that Masiello has no degree, that the administration will have to review the whole situation and make their decision. Let's just say this could get nasty quickly.

There has been chatter that Manhattan, or USF, or other schools in need of a coach should consider scrapping their rule about having a degree to be head coach. There is no doubt that Masiello is an excellent head coach. Manhattan likes him. There really is a lot to be seen.

One thing is certain, and that is the fact that Steve Masiello's career has went from, in one week, one of the most up-and-coming in the country, to being nearly flushed down the toilet.

And the downfall started with a lie. (Future 30 For 30 documentary coming out on this? You never know...)