Former USC coach Tony Bland is making a return to college basketball. New Washington men’s basketball head coach Danny Sprinkle is set to hire Bland as an assistant coach, as reported by Jeff Goodman of Field of 68. This comes five years after Bland pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in connection to the college basketball fraud scandal.

Bland faced a three-year show-cause penalty, essentially barring him from the sport. Since then, he has reportedly been coaching at St. Bernard High School in Los Angeles and working as an AAU coach, while also engaging in community work with troubled youth.

Previously, Bland served as an assistant coach at USC and was one of the individuals arrested in 2017 amid a scandal implicating several coaches and employees linked to Adidas and its affiliated schools. He was accused of accepting payments to influence NBA-bound USC players towards certain individuals. Bland avoided jail time by pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery in 2019, receiving probation and community service instead.

Despite the federal charges, Bland garnered support from numerous character witnesses and received praise from Judge Edgardo Ramos, who emphasized Bland’s potential for positive change.

Before his legal troubles, Bland had coaching stints at both USC and San Diego State, in addition to his collegiate playing career at Syracuse and San Diego State.