Manhattan College head coach/Rick Pitino protege Steve Masiello (above) has seen a move to the University Of South Florida go up in smoke after a rather glaring discrepancy on his resume was uncovered. The Tampa Tribune’s Joey Johnson reports USF will probably target UMass’ Derek Kellogg and Louisiana Tech’s Mike White, both of whom presumably hold bachelor’s degrees.
The UK Office of Public Relations confirmed to The Tampa Tribune that Masiello was a student there from 1996 to 2000. He was a walk-on basketball player for Coach Rick Pitino in his first year, then Coach Tubby Smith for his final three seasons. According to UK records, Masiello never received a degree.
In Masiello’s official biography with Manhattan College, he is described as “a 2000 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in communications.”
According to a source close to USF’s coaching search, Bulls athletic director Mark Harlan had reached an agreement Tuesday on a five-year contract with Masiello, who would be paid more than $1 million per season. The document was signed, but it was contingent on the verification of his résumé.
Eastman & Beaudine, a Texas-based search firm that was paid $60,000 by USF to find men’s basketball coaching candidates, was completing its routine criminal and background check when the résumé discrepancy was found.