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william_brasky
3/31/2006, 10:09 AM
By John Rohde
The Oklahoman

INDIANAPOLIS - Bennie Seltzer was standing outside the Hyatt Hotel in downtown Indianapolis on Thursday morning.

He was wearing a sportcoat but not wearing a smile.

Seltzer is now a former Oklahoma assistant men’s basketball coach. What makes this particularly painful is he will not soon be an Indiana assistant men’s basketball coach.

Kelvin Sampson left OU for IU, and he’s leaving Seltzer behind.

A working relationship that began in 1989 is now over.

Seltzer has been Sampson’s loyal servant - on the court, off the court, in the locker room, on the road, at summer camp, before curfew and after.

Sampson has proclaimed Seltzer the best point guard he’s ever coached, high praise considering how Sampson browbeats those who play the point.

Seltzer was a Pacific-10 Conference all-freshman pick while playing for
Sampson at Washington State. As a senior, Seltzer was a first-team all-conference selection who averaged 17.9 and 4.7 assists and left as the league’s all-time 3-point man at the time.

After playing pro ball overseas four seasons, Seltzer joined Sampson at OU in the summer of 1997.

When the Sooners didn’t have enough healthy bodies to practice, Seltzer would come out of retirement and play. Before he blew out a knee a few years back, Seltzer often dominated practice, raining in treys and toying with starters.

Seltzer has said what he enjoys most is one-on-one instruction and running kid camps. Becoming a head coach at a major university is not Seltzer’s life dream.

A loyal lifetime assistant is hard to find, and Sampson had one in Seltzer.

Hopefully and presumably, Sampson will take care of Seltzer with glowing recommendations.

Hopefully and presumably, Sampson would do that for any former assistant who served him well and followed his lead.

It remains uncertain what OU assistants - if any - will join Sampson in Bloomington.

It appears Ray McCallum is the only candidate. As a former high school standout in Muncie and a record-setting player at Ball State, who also served as head coach there, McCallum’s Indiana ties would be of great benefit to Sampson.

The futures of Bob Hoffman, Jerry Green and Seltzer also are unknown, though Hoffman will serve as interim coach at OU until Sampson’s replacement is hired.

The Hyatt lobby will double as an unemployment office the next few days.

The 497-room hotel is headquarters for the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

The NABC hotel at the Final Four is an annual feeding frenzy for coaches.

This week, the Hyatt will offer a smorgasbord of sweatpants, sweatshirts and cell phones.

Every school logo imaginable will be displayed on every piece of apparel imaginable.

Sports writers from states in search of a head coach (that’s me) will slink around, scrounging for any morsel of information.

As a new head coach without a coaching staff - and being from a storied program only an hour away - Sampson might get crushed to death if he lounged in the Hyatt lobby.

“That lobby is one place you will not see me this week,” Sampson promised.

But it is where you will find a dapper-looking Seltzer, who wore no OU logo Thursday.

“This trip is all-business for me,” said Seltzer, a casualty of the coaching war.

Crimsontothecore
3/31/2006, 10:17 AM
I can understand Sampson not wanting Seltzer at IU, After all, Seltzer was probably one of the many obstacles at OU that kept Sampson from winning a national title.

Sooner04
3/31/2006, 10:22 AM
Man, that's sad. I like Bennie.

Jimminy Crimson
3/31/2006, 12:42 PM
I'd like to see Bennie stick around at OU since Sampson is blowing him off.

OUGreg723
3/31/2006, 01:10 PM
I can understand Sampson not wanting Seltzer at IU, After all, Seltzer was probably one of the many obstacles at OU that kept Sampson from winning a national title.

Are you being serious?

How was a great assistant an obstacle?

Jimminy Crimson
3/31/2006, 01:24 PM
I can understand Sampson not wanting Seltzer at IU, After all, Seltzer was probably one of the many obstacles at OU that kept Sampson from winning a national title.

Seltzer was the key in developing the Quannas/Hollis backcourt.

Gandalf_The_Grey
3/31/2006, 01:47 PM
I think he was being facetious ;) YWIA....please tell me you was being facetious :P

TopDawg
3/31/2006, 01:53 PM
Man, that's sad. I like Bennie.

Me too. Coach Seltzer was a real cool guy.

Taxman71
3/31/2006, 02:21 PM
Does this mean no more Little Dribblers? I was looking forward to my son doing that when he got older.

Sooner24
3/31/2006, 03:58 PM
Everyone loved Bennie. That's a real shame.

Sooner24
3/31/2006, 04:00 PM
Are they sure that Martin wouldn't keep Bennie on staff if he gets the job? :confused:

Jimminy Crimson
3/31/2006, 04:05 PM
Are they sure that Martin wouldn't keep Bennie on staff if he gets the job? :confused:

That'd be a given. Martin & Seltzer have a lot of mutual respect for each other.

Crimsontothecore
3/31/2006, 04:38 PM
I think he was being facetious ;) YWIA....please tell me you was being facetious :P
I was being extremely facetious.....and i'm normally not a fascist:P .

stoopified
3/31/2006, 04:47 PM
All I gotta say about this is WTF?He doesn't want Seltzer?That is a less than class move by KS.

GottaHavePride
3/31/2006, 05:38 PM
Bennie Seltzer for head coach?