ElViento: Can you believe that as recently as two games ago, some idiot was comparing this Houston Cougar basketball team to a hot female? Yikes.
Don’t let yourself get suckered into believing any different; this program will never get off the ground with Tom Penders. I honestly believe that athletics director Mack Rhoades will do everything within his power to remove Penders as coach this off-season, but with the University of Houston athletics department currently saving up for a remodel/rebuilding of Robertson Stadium and/or Hofheinz Pavilion, a buyout might just not be in the budget, which would mean two more years of Penders-coached basketball. Sure, the anti-Penders crowd will have two more years of weeping and teeth-gnashing, but ultimately, those two years will have little effect on Tom’s legacy on Cullen Boulevard. In fact, as the title of this little write-up might suggest, his lasting impression on the Cougar faithful has already been left, and can be readily defined.
Penders is what Art Briles would have been in a few years if he had never left for Baylor. Briles took over a football program that was one year removed from a winless season and guided the Cougars to a bowl game in his first campaign. In his five years at the helm of the program, his teams earned four bowl berths. Up until he left, he was a wildly popular coach among the Houston faithful, largely due to the fact that he was getting us to bowl games on a regular basis. He was achieving the goal most fans had for the program. The Cougar football program had made just two bowl appearances in the fourteen years before Briles, and suddenly bowl games started looking like an every year deal. That’s what we wanted. Now, had he hung around long enough, people would have realized that we would have never gotten to the next level of national prominence under Briles. He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) recruit the big-time kids in the Houston area, opting to go with the hit-or-miss philosophy of recruiting kids from smaller towns and smaller schools. His teams were undisciplined, racking up a mind-boggling number of penalties of the “illegal procedure” and “too many men in the huddle” variety. He placed a frightening lack of emphasis on special teams, which seemed to cost the Cougars a game every year. Eventually, Houston would have thanked Briles for the work he did, shown him the door, and looked for a coach who could take the next step. What actually happened was the best possible scenario. Briles left voluntarily, and in a manner that ensured that nobody would miss him. In stepped a coach in Kevin Sumlin who seems capable of getting Houston back to national prominence. Recruiting is way up, stupid penalties are way down. (And we have more excellent water slides than any other planet we communicate with!…anybody?)
You may remember that back when I was still talking about basketball, I referred to the “anti-Penders crowd” in the third person, disassociating myself from the group, despite the fact that just a few sentences prior, I was calling for Penders to be removed as coach. I honestly do not consider myself part of that group. Allow me to explain why, in characteristically verbose fashion.
Penders is Briles. He took over a program that had just one winning season in the eight prior to his arrival, and just one ten-win season out of the previous five. It was a basketball program in disarray, at least to the extent that the football program was prior to Briles’ arrival. In fact, I would argue that the basketball program was in worse shape. The improvement from Dana Dimel‘s last season to Briles’ first was just a game and a half. Look it up, Dimel’s Coogs went 5-7 in 2002, Briles’ Cougars went 7-6 in ’03. Penders took UH from 9-18 (3-13 in C-USA) to the NIT in year one. Since then, Penders has won 20 games three times, and never failed to win at least 18 – although he probably will not make it this year. Like Briles, Penders has never been able to pull in the big-time Houston-area recruits. And while his teams have been impressive in some areas (like being near the top in the nation in turnover margin year-in and year-out), there always seems to be a fatal flaw that derails the train – poor shot selection more often than not.
Penders also suffers from the much higher standards that come with basketball. When Briles got here, he immediately began achieving the goal of getting to bowl games regularly. However, in hoops, the goal is the NCAA tournament, and nothing less. So while NIT berths were nice, they were just a stepping stone to the real goal. It’s a pretty stark double-standard. Consider that, as of the 2009-10 athletic year, 57% of NCAA division 1-A football teams make a bowl game (68 out of 120), while just 19% of basketball teams make the NCAA tournament (65 out of 347). Not to mention that you don’t have to worry about the New Hampshires of the world stealing bowl bids the way that lesser teams get automatic tournament berths in basketball for winning their conference. If Penders were judged by football standards, each of his first five teams has been a “bowl team”. And while Briles was praised for quickly getting the team consistently bowl-eligible, Penders gets slammed for not making the NCAA tournament.
It would be dishonest to discuss the Cougar basketball program without discussing some of the difficulties that the program faces. Funding for Cougar basketball is non-existent. So is the Cougar fan base. I love the Hof for all of its history, but it is older than the Pyramids. The city of Houston produces its fair share of basketball talent, but only at a fraction of the rate that it churns out football players. In football, the three hotbeds are California, Texas and Florida. Most basketball talent comes out of the northeast.
Look at all those old, empty seats enjoying the game
The reality of the expectations of taking on the Cougar men’s basketball head coaching job remain, however. Penders knew this when he signed up for the job. It’s NCAA tournament or bust. Even with a shoestring budget, even with sparse crowds, Cougar fans know that UH has been a powerhouse basketball program in the past, and don’t think that occasional tournament teams are too much to ask. And Penders flat-out hasn’t lived up to his “Tournament Tom” moniker. That’s why it’s time for a new coach. Maybe we’ll hire a Sumlin, maybe we’ll hire a Ray McCallum, maybe we’ll just hire another Penders. But it’s time to try something new.
It is the constant vitriol from the majority of the anti-Penders camp that keeps me from associating myself with them. He’s always been nice to me, he cares deeply about this university and this basketball program, and he’s done some very impressive things here. This should count for something. Maybe the modern recruiting game has passed him by, we’ll probably never reach the Big Dance with him, and I hope we have a new coach next year. Just don’t tell me he’s a horrible coach, don’t attack his character, and don’t tell me you’re a true fan while simultaneously telling me you won’t attend games until he leaves.
If this has been Penders’ obituary, here is his epitaph:
Tom Penders (2004-?): Exactly the coach that the University of Houston fan base deserved.
(Photo credit – Hofheinz Pavilion: jtdees, ScottAndHolman.com)
You people are like The Sunshine Network reporting on the Hindenburg.
Mack will “do everything within his power.”
Please! Mack Rhoades best fire this dipshit or risk the same fate himself.
It’s so lovely to blither away about a new facility when a major college basketball program is rotting in the middle of 6 million people.
Here’s my question: How long can a university trying to acquire money afford to run a basketball arena with 1000 people in it? Did I say 200 were staff members?
Every humps Renu’s skirt and tickles Mack’s balls at the drop of a hat. Two geniuses! To great visionaries! They are the future!
Bullshit! If you aren’t a good enough leader to can a shithead that’s “costing” your program hundreds of thousands a dollars a year in bad PR and lost gate receipts, concessions, apparel, etc. then stop with the fucking adoration!!!
Picture if you will:
A major college basketball program playing in an arena that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to operate per year. 1000 people occupy the seats. 200 are staff members. The concessions close early. The apparel sales are almost nil. What a disaster financially.
But fireant! But fireant! You don’t know it all! How would you dod it if you had to buy him out??? Huh???
Answer: Pay me Mack Rhoades salary and I’ll make a decision in 5 minutes…but the hemorrhaging of our reputation and our resources through Hofheinz would end my first day on the job!
Thank you, fireant, for proving that my description of the anti-Penders crowd wasn’t an exaggeration. I think I may have under-stated my point.
You’re making the very large assumption that the financial woes of the basketball program are entirely tied to Tom Penders. I wasn’t there to see it, but it’s my understanding this program didn’t even draw that well when Phi Slamma Jamma was around. Firing Penders isn’t going to fill up Hofheinz.
Don’t forget that playing in a huge city is a curse disguised as a blessing. Schools in college towns tend to draw better than schools in large cities, because there’s a more felt connection to the school, and fewer other things to do on game day. Ask Rice, or Tulane. Then look at the support for schools like ECU and UTEP. USC and UCLA don’t consistently sell out the way that schools like Michigan or Ohio State can. Miami traditionally doesn’t draw well compared to other big-time Florida schools. The list of examples goes on.
-ElViento
I’ve said this for a couple seasons now. I like Penders. I like his work. But yes, he’s brought us as far as he can (and he’s struggling to keep us here), and it’s time for us to find someone to take us to the next level, before Penders can’t keep us where we are now.
I suspect Penders may even retire when he leaves UH (or maybe go back to some D2 school in the north). He’s earned it. He’s had a good long run, done his thing and had a full career; however, like all good, long careers, this one has an end, too, and it’s right here and now.
Congrats, TSOP, on the 400th all-time comment in the history of S&H.
Your prize is in the mail.
-ElViento
Yay! Why don’t I just pick it up? I don’t imagine it weighs much.
I think the Briles and Penders comparison comes up a bit short. Yes both took over rudderless programs but at least Briles got the Cougars into bowl games. Pender’s equivalent goal would be getting in to the NCAAs. He hasn’t done that.
Water slide line was from Bill & Ted, right?
I, too, think Penders has gone as far as he can. And that’s no indictment of his ability as a coach. He has the resume, as did every previous UH coach, except Drexler and Lewis. For whatever reason, Guy V. Lewis is the only coach to truly succeed here, though all have suffered from similar circumstances – playing in Hofheinz, before consistently small crowds, with little financial support from alumni donations.
It’s amazing that some (many?) think that it only becomes appropriate to support a team when it has already proven it can win, not support it in order to help it win. This tells me that people in Houston don’t really want UH basketball, they just want to associate themselves with glory and championships. Soon, I’ll tell you something you don’t already know.
Expectations are worthless, because the fervor they create will evaporate as soon as they are not exceeded. And once set, expectations only grow, they never contract. What must be viewed by Mr Rhoades is supply and demand, which right now suggests that we play in an arena the size of Tudor Fieldhouse. As soon as he starts trying to appease the expectations broadcast by those of fireant’s persuasion, he will have lost the battle, and the spiral will continue.
CoogR4Life, did you actually read what I wrote all the way through? Because I discussed that very issue in a lot of depth.
And yes, jtdees, Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is correct. And I think you pretty much nailed it. There are two types of fans – those that support their school/team because it’s their school/team, and those that wait for a school/team to prove that it is “worth” their support before calling it “theirs”. Sadly, most sports fans in the city of Houston fall into the latter category.
-ElViento
ElViento, I’ll be honest. No I didn’t read the whole post through until after I made my shoot from the hip blindfolded post. Next time I’ll finish reading before I make my remarks.
That said, I still believe that the NCAAs or lack thereof is an appropriate measuring stick for Turnaround Tom. After all, that is what he brought in to do.
I appreciate your honesty. I agree with you, for what it’s worth. Whether or not it’s fair, the measuring stick IS the NCAA tournament. And Penders simply hasn’t accomplished that.
-ElViento