and Notes
Basketball coach is a steal
By now, everyone and his brother know who the newest basketball coach on campus is and why he is going to be a huge asset to his program. Oh, you thought I was talking about Clyde? No, it's Joe Curl, the new women's basketball coach.
Curl enters a room and changes the dynamics of the entire conversation. His enthusiasm for turning his program around has impressed many in the coaching ranks and especially many around UH athletics.
Spring football a success
After losing eight starters to graduation, coach Kim Helton is not sure about his defense, or lack thereof. Only three starters remain from the 3-8 team of a year ago.
"We know we have some good football players on this team," Helton said, "but defensively, we can't make a good judgment about whether we are a good defense or not."
One thing Helton does know is that C-USA Freshman of the Year Jason McKinley cannot suffer through a sophomore jinx.
"McKinley will get the first opportunity to start, but he has to handle the job better. He gets the first chance, but he does have competition," an optimistic Helton remarked.
One last chance to shine
Retiring track and field coach Tom Tellez gets one more weekend in the sun as he leads his Cougar Track and Field team into the NCAA Championships in Buffalo, NY.
After 22 seasons on Cullen, Tellez is stepping aside. He has produced no less than 16 individual champions at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in his tenure at UH.
This season, All-American thrower John Davis and C-USA women's indoor Athlete of the Year Jenny Adams led the Cougar squad of seven athletes who qualified for the NCAA National Championships.
Today is the first day of competition, with Adams, Lisa Duffus, Ifoma Jones and Vernetta Rolle all getting their events underway. Davis begins his quest for the men's discus title on Friday, and for the shot put trophy on the last day of the tournament, Saturday.
Title IX Football
Head football coach Kim Helton has announced that he will host a women's only football camp on Saturday, June 6. The camp will last from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.
Campers will experience on-the-field coaching by Helton and his staff.
"This will be a great experience for both the campers and the coaching staff," Helton said.
Cost for the camp will be $50 and will include a catered lunch by La Madeline's. Nothing like the halfback option and quiche. For more information, call Cougar Football offices at 713-743-9388.
The Amateur Draft
Although Cougar baseball did not live up to its expectations, several of the team's standouts could potentially be drafted during the amateur baseball draft, which started yesterday and continues through Thursday.
Seniors Jon McDonald and Shaun Skreehot lead the list of possible draftees. McDonald, a left-handed pitcher, finished the season with an 8-4 record and a 5.33 ERA. Skreehot hit .274 in 190 at-bats but also committed 22 errors to lead the team. It seems unlikely that either would be drafted before Thursday, when the later rounds begin.
Juniors Mike Medrano and Bruce Rios have respectable shots at being drafted, although it is unlikely that either will forego his senior year to enter the minor leagues.
Medrano, the everyday centerfielder, hit .344 with 12 homers in 1998. Rios, the DH for most of the season, hit a club-leading .370 with a staggering .498 on-base percentage.
Can you spare a dime, mister?
With the Western Athletic Conference disappearing as swiftly as it burst onto the scene, many of the league's schools are looking for new homes. Some may even want that home to be Conference USA.
When the idea of a 16-team league was proposed and approved, many WAC Athletic Directors and school presidents thought the sheer size of the conference would generate money in the form of television deals. However, 10 of those 16 presidents have now moved on, and the idea of the Mega-WAC has lost appeal with most involved.
After the split was announced, Rice, TCU, SMU and Tulsa formed a pact allying with each other and swearing not to enter into a conference without the others.
It seems Rice may be violating that agreement already. Rumors swirling around C-USA circles say that Rice desperately wants in the conference.
However, many believe that the Hoot-Owls are unlikely to get a bone thrown to them.