July 23
The tragedy transpiring at Baylor is so sad. It doesn't get any worse than the loss of life, and Patrick Dennehy's apparent death is tragic.

	Bliss

	Dennehy

When you think about teammates, a locker room and the camaraderie that usually takes place there, you never consider a scenario like this. Think about it -- former Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson has been accused of murdering Dennehy, his friend and ex-teammate. I can't recall something like this happening before in college basketball. I don't know all the facts and neither does anyone else (except, perhaps, for Dotson).

It has been a nightmarish month and a half for Baylor coach Dave Bliss and his coaching staff. Bliss has sworn emphatically that he knew nothing of any threats made against Dennehy and Dotson.

When Bliss was the head coach at New Mexico, I had the opportunity to speak there, and I watched his relationship with his players. It was something special. Bliss is filled with integrity and honesty, and he's always had a compassionate feeling for his players. I've watched him over the years, from the days when he was an assistant under Robert Montgomery Knight at Indiana, and then moving on and up to places like Cornell, SMU, Oklahoma, New Mexico and now Baylor.

The Baylor situation, as we all know, is not an easy place to be successful -- especially because the Big 12 is arguably the premier league in America. When you go up against sensational programs like Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, there are no easy stops.

When you compete for recruits, as Bliss does, sometimes you take a chance with kids who have had some problems elsewhere, and then you hope and pray that you have the magical formula to change them.

It will be tougher than ever for Bliss to recruit with all the negative publicity that has surrounded the Baylor program and coaching staff.

But the biggest loss of all, obviously, is the loss of Patrick Dennehy. I feel for the Dennehy family and all they've had to go through. I also feel the pain Bliss and his staff are feeling. Bliss really gives a damn about the athletes who wear the uniform he represents.