Tom Penders out as UH basketball coach

BCG is about to create something fierce... he has been toiling away, plotting, probably viewing film from 9-4am drinking Dr. Pepper and snorting no-doz. Sleeps from 4-6am then its off to the local high schools where he lurks in the shadows approaching Texas' most talented athletes as he meticulously assembles a new cast of minions. The fact that BCG is even on the radar already paid off in a Tournament berth as the current lineup of bozos fear for whats to come.

As BCG rebuilds his Texas empire, now humbled, he will ensure that all that mocked and questioned him receive retribution. Relentless, cold, and brutal retribution. A vengeance so swift and forceful this state will never be the same again.

Fear him.

 

YESS!!!!! thank goodness.

 

I was calling for his dismissal so I can't complain. If he is willing to retire the timing is excellent he can go out "on-top" having led us back to the tourney.

The timing is a little weird, if Coleman and Lewis weren't seniors I would be tempted to let him coach til his contract expires next year. The Coogs have NOTHING coming back though...and another year of JUCO's and the best players Rhode Island have to offer isn't going to address that.

Thanks Coach for taking us out of the McCallum, Brooks, Drexler morass but I think we need someone who is willing to at least look at local kids.

 

He took the program from garbage to at a ncaa team. give him some credit.

I think bcg can take them further, but give pender's his props.

 

I have said many times, he brought us a VERY long way *shudders at thought of Clyde era* and for that I am very thankful. However, it is time for a change. His philosophies have not evolved with the game and his JUCO recruiting strategy can only set you up for letdown. Its not a sustainable program. The only way mid-majors can compete with the big dogs is by getting the less sought after guys to play together in a system for years.

Again, I am thankful for Penders and i have even said it to him when given the chance. Its just time to move on.

 

sports by brooks is garbage... he just makes things up... He also reported Art Briles was offered and accepted the head coaching job at texas tech which was completely false...

 

The conference tournament was a lot of fun, but the regular season was just dismal at times. Attendance is completely dead at UH games, and Hoffheinz is a bit of a dump. Penders had those factors working against him, and kept the team from being a complete laughing stock, something his predecessors failed to do. But annual trips to the CBI and losing conference records with your "best team ever" aren't exactly irreplaceable.

I was never a fan of Penders' brand of ball. Clearly, the new AD evaluated the program and decided that Penders' did not fit the plan moving forward. As for Gillespie, he's a mighty intriguing option. UH isn't the easiest place to coach, but it's not hard to envision him doing well there.

 

Penders revived UH basketball, I appreciate that. But if it means getting a guy like Billy Gillispie, an incredible recruiter and coach, then it is best for both sides to move on.

Thank you for the memories Penders, you did a great job here in Houston and I'm sure some other team will pick you up.

 

agreed about penders - This program was so behind when he took over, taking into consideration facilities, recruiting, record, fanbase, etc... Impossible to expect ANY coach to lead a full revival. I'm appreciative of all the steps forward.

My assumption is that ADMR is getting a ton of pressure from boosters to show him the door. My hope is he's really getting somewhere with them and this is or turns out to be a tit for tat.

I'm not so sure about gillespie however. Not sure what he brings...

 

Gillespie made Texas A&M into a perennial NCAA tournament team (not to take anything away from Turdgeon who's doing a great job as well). If he even comes close to doing the same with UH, that'll be a big improvement.

 

Once AC leaves the program is in no better shape than how he found it.

 

As much of a spectacular train wreck as it might be, give me BCG.

 

They said the same thing when Acie left TAMU and A.C. left Saved by the Bell. The boat never sinks with the loss of an AC.

 

I thought the same thing about Andre Owens and Fluff McKiver... Let's see what happens with our new HC.

 

So they're replacing one drunken jackass with another? Right on! At least BCG can coach.

 

No kidding.

Give me the misfit that can coach and recruit Texas.

 

Honestly I'm not much of a college bball fan so I've only gone to a handful of games over the years. If UH has a winning team though, people will come regardless of how crappy the stadium is. But I agree, Penders' brand of ball was very boring to watch.

 

Get Billy Clyde in asap, let him recruit and hope in 3 years we are the beast of CUSA. He will leave for a better job in 4 or 5 years but at least sets up the program in a good spot to bring in a good coach to carry on the progress.

 

For those of you that support the Penders firing, I'm curious about a few things. Is Gillispie going to magically convince UH alumni to build better facilities than the garbage we have now? What about the ridiculously apathetic fan base for UH? (not to mention the fact that who wants to be caught around Cullen/Scott street at night, lol)

UH needs to get their priorities straightened out on whether they want to be a perennial NCAA tournament team or a team content to make the tournament once every few years. The facilities and the fan base need to be significantly improved for any top local talent to come here. The argument that Penders doesn't recruit is mostly garbage. The top tier universities are bagging the local talent around here much more because they're better programs than UH with better facilities and significantly more fan support. Who do you want Penders to recruit out of what's left? B and C level players from Yates and Hightower?

As someone that doesn't go to UH but loves to see local schools succeed to represent Houston, I'm pulling for them. Yet, UH needs to figure out just what they want to do though first. If you want any top level talent to come here, you're going to have to find some way to motivate people to actually come to your games. Who wants to play in front of 5 people every night? Who wants to play at a school whose facilities are comparable to a YMCA? Give out free tickets on certain nights, toss in some promo's here or there, aggressively (even more so for the future) market the games as a fun place to be for some good basketball.