Tennessee basketball coach Donnie Tyndall will lead his first Volunteers team into Southeastern Conference play on Wednesday and has been impressed with his players' mental toughness.KNOXVILLE -- While the season on the court plays out, Tennessee's wait for a resolution to its basketball program's biggest off-court situation continues.
And there doesn't appear to be an imminent finish line, either.
An NCAA investigation into Donnie Tyndall, the first-year coach of the Volunteers, for potential violations that occurred during his two-year tenure at Southern Mississippi has been a black cloud since November for Tennessee, which is waiting for the next step in the process.
Athletic director Dave Hart told the Times Free Press in his office on Thursday morning that Tennessee is not expecting a notice of allegations for Tyndall as it awaits word from the NCAA.
"We don't have any update at all," he said. "We haven't heard anything from the NCAA for many, many weeks now."
Rarely do NCAA investigations move quickly, so Tyndall and the Vols may have to deal with the distraction these situations typically create in recruiting and otherwise for the foreseeable future.
Assistant coach Adam Howard resigned in November for what the program termed "personal reasons," though it almost certainly was related to the NCAA situation, which reportedly involves improper financial aid for players who were not yet on scholarship.
Tyndall earned his first SEC win in his league debut on Wednesday night when Tennessee grinded out a 61-47 win at Mississippi State. The Vols are off to a 9-4 start -- the same record Tennessee had through 13 games under Cuonzo Martin last season -- heading into a two-game homestand against Alabama and Arkansas. Tennessee is 7-0 at home this season.
The Vols are down to nine healthy scholarship players, and five of those players are either first-year junior-college transfers or freshmen.
Tennessee landed a verbal commitment from Romello White, a 6-foot-8 forward from Florida who's a four-star prospect in the 2016 class according to 247sports, on Monday.
"Donnie can coach," Hart said. "Donnie's a very good basketball coach. I think as was stated when he was hired, I think his style of play is an exciting style of play. He put together a roster in a very late timeframe and did a great job patching together a roster.
"I think people have been for the most part very impressed with what he's been able to accomplish. This is a team that really had very few returning players. We're getting into the tougher part, now. We're into league play, and our league's a lot better this year. There a number of teams that are very good basketball teams.
"But I'm very pleased with what Donnie has accomplished. He's a good basketball coach."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.