Latest probe can't take away Massimino's greatness, can it?
Stringer, who also had been arrested in 1997 (charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest were later dropped), led the Vikings in scoring at 19.1 per game in 1999-2000. Two years later, Stringer's former high school teammate, Jamaal Harris, led the Vikings in scoring at 15.5 points in 2001-02.
In May 2002, Stringer and Harris robbed Cleveland Indians pitcher C.C. Sabathia at gunpoint. They were sentenced to four years in prison.
One year later, 2002-03 scoring leader Modibo Niakate (11.9 per game) was dismissed from the team for unspecified disciplinary reasons.
Massimino was no one-shot wonder at Villanova, where he won 355 games and made 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. But at UNLV and Cleveland State, he went from a magician to an albatross. Both schools bought out his long-term contracts, spending almost $2.5 million to be rid of Rollie.
Massimino's 15-13 record in 1993-94 was UNLV's worst in 21 years. His seven-year record at Cleveland State was 90-113, where he was hounded to the end by a website devoted to his struggles: FireRollie.com.
In summary ... Massimino followed that 1985 national championship by getting chased out of UNLV with an ethics violation, then by getting chased out of Cleveland State following off-court issues and on-court losses. Now this: an informal NCAA investigation.
In college basketball history, N.C. State's Jim Valvano is the only coach to exceed such a rise and fall. Like Rollie, Jimmy V was a charmer with a great name and an impossible NCAA championship. But Valvano experienced even more off-court scrutiny, namely a sloppy 1988 book titled Personal Fouls that found just enough ugly truths to warrant Valvano's resignation in 1990.
Today Valvano is remembered less for his troubles and more for his title, thanks to his madcap race around The Pit after the Wolfpack stunned Houston in 1983. His legacy wasn't hurt by his inspirational stand against cancer, which killed him in 1993.
Several years from now, when it is done chewing him up, perhaps history will be as kind to Massimino. He should live long enough to see that day.
