LAS VEGAS – The July recruiting period in college basketball moonlights as the sport’s prime season for gossip. Coaches worn out by month’s end kick back in bleachers across the country during the day and belly up to hotel bars at night. Between red-eye flights and rental car counters, they attempt to solve the game’s problems.

The biggest problem, and hottest topic, remains the sweeping Justice Department investigation that rocked the sport 10 months ago. With more than two months until the first of three federal trials begins, a steady undercurrent of uncertainty remains prevalent in the sport. With the federal cases in a relatively quiet period, many coaches and administrators have equated the lack of headline news with a potential lack of action. That notion has been greeted with a chuckle for those experienced with federal cases.

“The Gatto trial starts in October,” said a source familiar with the case. “I’d be worried if I were some coaches about what’s on those tapes [from wiretaps]. No question.”

With another flurry of activity seemingly on the way, here are the five biggest questions Yahoo Sports heard from administrators and coaches this July that will attempt to separate summer gossip from current realities.

Why are things so quiet?

The complaints about a lack of activity in the case are likely a byproduct of scandal fatigue, as coaches and administrators are anxious for conclusions and clarity. Bad news: neither conclusion nor clarity is coming soon.

There have been several major developments in the case since the flurry of arrests on Sept. 26. In a vacuum, they’d all be huge stories. In the past few months, schools like North Carolina State, Maryland and Kansas have been subpoenaed by the federal government. In April, a superseding indictment detailed how people affiliated with Adidas helped arrange money to help Kansas recruit two top prospects. (The Billy Preston deal, documents allege, was for $90,000 and included cloak-and-dagger cash drops in hotel rooms.) An alleged $40,000 payment to keep Dennis Smith Jr. committed to N.C. State included an Adidas executive using “sham invoices.” Former Adidas consultant T.J. Gassnola also pled guilty to a felony and is cooperating with the government.

The original bombshells of arrested coaches and and a fired Hall of Fame head coach distorted the view of what qualifies as big news. Since then, updates on the case have come out in dribs and drabs.

“It’s not going to be over for at least 11 months,” said a person familiar with one of the three upcoming trials. “If anyone is convicted, then you’re looking at two or three more years for appeals.”

Why hasn’t NCAA done much of anything?

The NCAA enforcement officials were out at grassroots basketball tournaments this summer, wearing shirts with logos that read: “Protect the Game.” Those led to both chuckles and grumbles among coaches, who are wondering collectively why the organization has done little to the schools involved in the federal case.

The simple answer is that NCAA investigators essentially have been benched by the legal system. As long as the case is ongoing, they’re limited in what it can investigate. “It is clear the federal investigation remains ongoing,” NCAA executive vice president Donald M. Remy, who oversees legal affairs, told Yahoo Sports.

The NCAA has been in constant contact with the Southern District of New York, where the case originated. There have been some issues the NCAA could look at, like the eligibility of players. (For instance, Auburn’s Austin Wiley was cleared to play in 2018-19, and teammate Danjel Purifoy will be eligible after sitting 30 percent of the season. Both sat out the entire 2017-18 season after being implicated in the investigation.) Everything that NCAA investigators have done has come with federal clearance, which has limited the scope. “I can say we’ve been actively investigating related matters, from student-athlete eligibility to enforcement issues,” Remy said. “We’ve got a job to do, and I can assure you we’ve been doing it.”

The question is when anything will get done. Given the potential federal timeline, the NCAA may not begin significant enforcement measures tied to these cases for perhaps a year.

Will NCAA ever get evidence that feds accumulated?

Story continues