Two Basketball Cases Closed

The NCAA report that imposed probation on the USC athletic department dismissed serious allegations of wrongdoing by the men’s basketball team.

A year ago, former USC assistant Dave Miller was recruiting Jerry Dupree at the College of Southern Idaho. Dupree’s coach, Derek Zeck, claimed that Miller offered him money to help woo the sophomore forward.

At the time, USC Coach Henry Bibby called the allegations “completely false” and, on Thursday, the NCAA agreed, finding no evidence for a finding against Miller.

Bibby could not be reached for comment. Miller is no longer with the team, having resigned in June.

The NCAA report also brought closure to the case of former player Jeff Trepagnier.

Last season, Trepagnier took out a student loan that was co-signed by the father of his then-fiancee. He used the money to lease a Cadillac Escalade.

The senior ran into trouble because his fiancee’s mother was a volunteer track coach at USC. Under NCAA regulations, that made it improper for the father to co-sign the loan.

Trepagnier eventually married the daughter and regained his eligibility. The NCAA still found a secondary violation in all of this.

“It was not considered to be major,” said Jack Friedenthal, chair of the Committee on Infractions. “The father-in-law did not hand him any cash.”