From the Big "E" era of Elvin Hayes to the Phi Slama Jama era of Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler and now known as "The Show", UH basketball is back in the final four! Well, not that NCAA Final Four you're thinking of, but the final four of the inaugural College Basketball Invitational which takes place tonight as Houston travels to face C-USA rival Tulsa in Oklahoma. Though, this is not the post-season UH head coach Tom Penders had in mind after a 11-1 start, the best since the Olajuwon-Drexler days, UH finished the season losing three out of four and finishing 24-9 and feeling down and out. But before finding out there fate to see if the NIT would select them, UH jumped at the chance at post-season play by accepting a bid from the CBI. In the first round, UH squeaked out a road win against Nevada 80-79 and then hosted Valparaiso on Monday and handled them for a 91-67 victory. Now UH will face Tulsa tonight and a win will grant them a chance at the inaugural CBI championship game, which is a best two out of three game series. The Cougars currently hold a five game winning streak against Tulsa, which includes a 92-81 home victory this past February at Guy V. Lewis Court. UH's last lost against Tulsa was on December 29, 1988. UH will be lead by Dion Dowell 11.2 PPG, Kelvin Lewis 10.2 PPG and Robert McKiver, who is averaging 23.4 PPG and who also scored an NCAA Division I season high 52 points against Southern Miss last month. What: College Basketball Invitational Semi-Finals Who: Houston Cougars v. Tulsa Golden Hurricanes Time: 8 p.m. Texas Standard Time Radio: 790 AM TV: Fox College Sports; Comcast Channel 120 www.houstonist.com
I'm not calling for Tom Penders head or anything. But next year we won't have Fluff to either jack it from the parking lot or drive to the hole. Thus we are going to have to install some sort of offense. We are good at taking care of the basketball, and good at forcing turnovers, but we have to get better looks with the extra possessions. Also how about if we only play HALF the SWAAC next year. No offense to TSU, Southern and Grambling State. Also maybe a couple less Coastal Carolinas and Arkansas Pine Bluff's. I understand wanting to pile up some wins for the program, but I don't think the NCAA committee would have been fooled even if we had managed a couple more wins.
From interviews, Penders has claimed to try to get better teams but they don't want to play us. I agree though, I'm sure he could find some better teams to play than SWAC schools.
The final score was deceptive. Without TU's missed free throws, this probably would have been a double digit win for the Hurricane. What a horrible showing. One team showed its upside for the future. The other is headed back to mediocrity. Jordan absolutely owned UH. I would be shocked if the Coogs don't finish middle of the pack or worse next year in C-USA.
It doesn't mean he's happy with it. Still, he's PROBABLY the best coach out there. If only he could install some sort of offense... And maybe a defense too. I guess that's just too much to ask. If I was playing armchair coach (and I am! Yay!), I'd keep 'em running. I'd go with a Princeton offense (I like Princeton. I even had Georgetown going to the Sweet 16. Shut it) and a 2-3 zone defense. Make teams beat UH by jacking up 3s like, well, like a Penders team. Still, The Show is over. This is the inevitable cast reunion years later. On a side note, I have no problem saying "we" when referring to UH. After all, I am PAYING for them.
Nope, but you should know by now what you've got, Penders has about a 20 year record to look back on. His teams will be much better than they were before he got there, they will play pressure D, get a lot of turnovers, allow a lot of easy baskets, and they will play an almost completely incohesive brand of guard-dominated jack-it-up offense with next to zero inside game. If you have very good guards (BMW, Rencher, SirValiant, McKiver) you will have success. And then it will all end with Penders quitting or being fired after multiple scandals.
I don't think UH has the resources for multiple scandals. If they're breaking the rules now, I sure as hell don't know where the money's going! As far as I know, the only major rule being broken by UH athletics is that the women's programs are not funded equally with the men's... because the AD can't afford it! It wasn't a bad season this year. There were actually some really fun games that I went to, Kentucky as the standout. The Memphis game was the only time I've ever seen a line stretch around Hoffheinz. UH fans are the ultimate Houston fans: Only turn out for an event! They never could beat Tulsa this year. Or Memphis. Or UTEP. That makes 'em the fourth best team in Conference USA, in my book. Not exactly ideal, but I've seen a lot worse from Cougar Basketball. It'll be fun to see a McKiver-less team next year. They might actually have to learn how to play! But Penders is Penders. I don't have a better idea.
UH blew away Tulsa at Hofheinz last month. IIRC at one point UH led by 20+ points. That is what's so shocking. Down the stretch, when it counts, Tulsa got hot. UH folded. It's unfortunate because the CBI Finals would have gotten UH some pub locally. I really think local politicians would have gotten on the bandwagon to try to sellout Hofheinz. It would have been an event. Oh well.
He didn't need more than a fax machine, a university phone card, a few thug players, and generous amounts of scotch to get run from UT & GW. Hope he keeps UH on the straight & narrow, though. UH athletics needs to be good at something, and that something should be hoops.
