'Not the Nate everyone knows and loves': Coach talks about suspect in Samantha Josephson death
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Justin Waiters was shocked when he read the news that Nathaniel Rowland, a young man he knew and coached for years, was charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson.
Waiters coached Rowland in Amateur Athletic Union basketball starting when Rowland was in ninth grade, and Waiters was his varsity basketball coach when Rowland was a senior at East Clarendon High School, about 60 miles east of Columbia.
"This doesn’t sound like the person we know and love," Waiters said.
Waiters, who last saw Rowland about a year ago, said he was a "great kid" from a "very involved" family who would always help with summer fundraisers for basketball teams.
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Rowland was a hardworking and smart student and player, Waiters said. When Waiters started as the East Clarendon varsity basketball coach in 2011, he picked Rowland as the team captain, having seen his leadership skills with the AAU team.
Waiters described Rowland as a "yes sir, yes ma’am" kid who was always respectful and pushed his peers to do their best.
East Clarendon Middle-High School has about 700 students. Waiters said the local community is close-knit.
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"Everybody pretty much knows everybody," said Waiters, who coached at the school from 2011 until 2016.
In an interview with local television station WACH, Rowland's father said, "I don’t feel like I raised a child like that."
Waiters echoed that sentiment.
"When his father spoke and said that’s not the son he raised, I have to second that," Waiters said. "That is not the Nate everyone knows and loves."
Dominique Rhodes, Rowland's first cousin, said the news also caught him off-guard. He said he feels sorry for the Josephson family's loss and that the situation has been hard on his family as well.
"I just wish they could really get to the bottom of the investigation," Rhodes said.
Others family members shared similar thoughts on Rowland.
"He has no violent record and if he is found to have been a part of this, our community will be very surprised as he has never displayed these actions and his character does not reflect an individual who would be capable of such," Monique Pearson, Rowland's second cousin, said.
This article originally appeared on The Greenville News: 'Not the Nate everyone knows and loves': Coach talks about suspect in Samantha Josephson death
