Regardless of how the Jon Valdez case ultimately plays out, you have to marvel at the astonishing turn the former Illini coach's life has taken.
A few short weeks ago, he was the head-coach-to-be of a perennial power in college men's gymnastics. With Yoshi Hayasaki retiring after this season, Valdez had one of the most  coveted jobs in the sport in his future grasp.
He was the personal coach to an Olympian, entrusted by fellow Illini assistant Justin Spring to guide the training of a world-class gymnast. When Spring went to Beijing earlier this year, Valdez was there every step and flip and spin of the way. When NBC's cameras captured the USA gymnastics sideline scenes, viewers saw not only Spring but Valdez.
And he was a rising presence in USA Gymnastics, the national governing body for the sport. In 2007, Valdez served as an assistant for the U.S. Pan American Games team that returned with a bronze medal. His resume included work, too, with U.S. Junior National Team members.
Now, Valdez's world has been turned upside down.
On Sept. 18, he was arrested in Wisconsin and is facing a drunken-driving charge. On Oct. 17, he resigned as UI associate head coach, an action one of his attorneys says was partially motivated by the pending DWI case.
And, in the most startling development of all, he's become a subject of speculation - and even accusation at one on-line chat site - related to a UI police investigation into a hidden video camera in a locker room used by Illini athletes.
As the Duke lacrosse/alleged rape case showed us, it's unfair and unwise to draw any conclusions or make any judgements right now, particularly in a case still in its investigative stage.
What we do know is that a career on a sharp rise - a career with so much future promise - has taken a stunningly swift downward spiral.
We can only imagine what those closest to Valdez are thinking. And hoping.
One guess is they're hoping a drunken-driving charge is the worst thing Valdez will face in the weeks and months ahead.