Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Tarkanian Talks Sports

We feel we have a very good field for Tuesday’s first-ever Rebel Roundup college basketball tournament to be played at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Murray State of Kentucky is 7-2 and a running team and coached by Fred Overton, a former assistant coach at Pepperdine University. The Racers will be the Runnin’ Rebel opponent Tuesday.

Larry Moffett, the junior UNLV center, played his freshman year at Murray State and Overton was very instrumental in elping us get Larry to play for the Rebels after he finished at Compton Junior College last year.

The Racers are a good team with a lot of quickness and tey won’ hesitate a bit when it comes to the running game. Bradley University, coached by Joe Stowell, doesn’t appear to be shy about putting the ball up either.

The Bradley Braves are 4-2 and twice have scored over 100 points this year, topped by last Saturday night’s 123-84 win over Illinois Tech. Bradley is averaging 91.3 points per game.

Bradley has always been a Missouri Valley Conference power and the Rebels will play the Brave at their place (Peoria, Ill.) on Feb. 1.

Basketball at the University of Oklahoma had not been very popular until last year when youthful Dave Bliss took over the reigns and promptly was voted as the Big Eight Coach-of-the-year. He has really turned the Sooner Program around and he is an excellent coach, coming to OU after four years as the top assistant coach for Bobby Knight at Indiana University.

Bliss had expected to have NBA rookie-of-the-Year Alvan Adams on his squad when he first took the job with Oklahoma and even after Adams went in the hardship draft with the Phoenix Suns, Bliss still did a super job with his Sooner team. They enter the Rebel Roundup with a 6-0 record.

Oklahoma runs Indian’s passing game offense and that is the same type of offense Oregon ran against the Rebels this season OU uses a pressure defense very similar to Indiana and Oregon also.

Bliss is regarded as on of the brightest young coaches in the game has really educated the Oklahoma people to another sport besides football.

All three of the visiting Roundup coaches will be guests at the Rebel quarterback club luncheon Tuesday at the Royal Inn Hotel’s Gold Room. They will all address the group. As always, the Rebels QB Club is open to the public.

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