OU investigating financing of Najera's high school tuition

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- The University of Oklahoma is looking into the financing of Eduardo Najera's senior year of high school,<br>although OU officials said Tuesday they don't believe there is

Tuesday, March 7th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -- The University of Oklahoma is looking into the financing of Eduardo Najera's senior year of high school,
although OU officials said Tuesday they don't believe there is any cause for concern.

The investigation comes as the result of a question posed by a reporter at the San Antonio Express-News.

"It's no story," coach Kelvin Sampson said when reached by The Associated Press.

A senior official in the athletic department also said there didn't appear to be any cause for alarm.

Najera, a native of Mexico, attended Cornerstone Christian in San Antonio during the 1994-95 school year. The San Antonio
newspaper said an official of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools said the tuition was subsidized by the Mexican
National Basketball Federation.

The TAPPS official also said the TAPPS board concluded the Cornerstone players from Mexico lived in the homes of families who
attended the church.

This season, the NCAA has penalized basketball players who have had third parties outside their immediate family pay for prep
school tuition. Oklahoma State freshman Andre Williams missed five games as the result of such an investigation.

Najera, a senior, was named to the All-Big 12 team on Monday. His 18.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game helped lead Oklahoma to a 24-5 record and the No. 3 seeding in the upcoming conference tournament.