Scandals Abound in Big 12 Hoops

A couple of potential scandals are brewing in Big 12 country as both Kansas and Oklahoma are implicated in some shady dealings.

Yahoo! Sports broke an incredible story this morning involving ticket scalping by individuals tied to Kansas.  Substantial evidence, via testimony of one of the key actors (David Freeman) and an investigation by the FBI and IRS, implicate representatives of the Kansas athletics department and ticket office in not only ticket scalping, but "theft, tax evasion, money laundering and other crimes."  The article was written by Jason King, Charles Robinson and Dan Wetzel.

""Freeman said [David and Dana Pump]– who advise schools on coaching hires and run traveling summer teams across the country – were conducting similar operations with colleges around the nation and often scalped tickets they received from college head coaches.""

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"...summer traveling teams financed by the Pump brothers have featured at least nine players who went on to play for the Jayhawks. Among them were nationally recruited players Mario Chalmers, David Padgett, Omar Wilkes, Tyrel Reed, Elijah Johnson, Jeff Withey, Travis Releford and Brady Morningstar."

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The Associated Press is reporting that Oklahoma is conducting an internal investigation of the Sooners' basketball program.  Only four years after Kelvin Sampson's program was busted for recruiting violations, OU, now coached by former Duke guard Jeff Capel, is again facing big trouble:   

""Oklahoma's athletic department has opened an investigation following reports that basketball player Tiny Gallon received money from a Florida financial adviser."

"Spokesman Kenny Mossman confirmed in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Wednesday night that Oklahoma is 'investigating matters that the public may be aware of through recent reports in the media.' He did not provide specific information about the investigation.

TMZ.com reported earlier this month that Gallon received a $3,000 bank transfer from financial adviser Jeffrey Hausinger.""