Oklahoma held an alumni reunion and game over the weekend, with players like Hollis Price in action and Blake Griffin in attendance. The coaches in the alumni game had OU ties as well, and this is where things get problematic. From the Associated Press:
Oklahoma Alumni Game Features Totally Appropriate Guest Coaches
Two of [OU coach Lon] Kruger's predecessors, Kelvin Sampson and Dave Bliss, served as opposing coaches in a game that had to be decided in sudden-death overtime.
What goes unmentioned: Sampson is working in the NBA because the NCAA smashed down a five-year show-cause order on him due to recruiting violations at Indiana, the school he left OU for. Bliss is currently unemployed because he tried to paint a murdered Baylor player as a drug dealer in order to cover his own ass.
I mean, it's a bit hard to fault Kruger here: he organized the weekend to try to build up his current program by pointing to the successes of the past. Sampson had Oklahoma's best modern teams, and Bliss is one of the more high-profile coaches in the school's history. Jeff Capel, who was fired last year to make way for Kruger, was unavailable.
But no school -- not OU, not SMU, no one -- should be aching to attach their names to Bliss, a despicable man who did awful things and continues to get in trouble. (He was canned by a Texas prep school last year for various ethical breaches. Seriously.) Bliss is the most toxic name in college basketball for good reason. Sampson got busted for violating NCAA regulations. Bliss got busted for violating NCAA regulations and also being a terrible human being. Avoid him at all costs, OU.
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