OU Men's Basketball Loses Assistant Coach

Originally Published: Apr 29, 2010 6:6 PM CDT

Andrew Topps
Oklahoma Sports Staff Writer

NORMAN, Oklahoma -- Oklahoma head men's basketball coach Jeff Capel announced that assistant coach Mark Cline is taking an assistant coaching position at Marshall University Thursday.

Cline is from Williamson, West Virginia, and is leaving for Marshall, which is located in Huntington, West Virginia. He leaves OU because he wants to be closer to home.

"I have loved my time at Oklahoma and this was not an easy choice," Cline said in a statment released by the university. "I've known Jeff [Capel] for almost 25 years and I have the utmost respect for him. I thank him for the opportunities he's given me and wish nothing but the best for him and for Oklahoma. In the end, the chance to get back to my home state was one I couldn't pass up."

Cline's relationship with the Capel family goes back to his days as an assistant coach at Fayetteville State (1989-93) where he served under Capel's father, Jeff Capel Jr. He transitioned with Capel Jr. to North Carolina A&T for the 1993-94 season before following him to Old Dominion where he spent five seasons.

Cline, 45, served four years as an assistant and associate head coach at Virginia Tech (1999-2003) before joining Capel's staff at Virginia Commonwealth for three seasons.

Cline starred at Wake Forest University (1983-87) and finished his career with 1,202 points to rank 17th on the school's all-time list. He was A two-time West Virginia High School Player of the Year and was a McDonald's All-American.