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Pick up the pace

Tom Penders brings a high-speed, high-scoring style of play that should start filling seats at Hofheinz Pavilion

By Christian Schmidt
The Daily Cougar

If you know anything about Tom Penders, you know that he likes to run.

That doesn't mean he's an avid jogger. It means that throughout his coaching career, his teams have moved faster than just about any other -- pressing and trapping on defense, running the fastbreak with abandon on offense. 

"The style will dramatically change," Penders said. "We're going to play up-tempo basketball, we're going to press everybody."

So you can bet the Houston team will be moving fast next season. The "Runnin' Coogs," perhaps?

Even if they don't win, the Cougars should be a fun team to watch. During his 10-year tenure at Texas, his teams routinely ranked among the nation's top teams in both points and turnovers forced.

The two players who may benefit the most from Penders' style are junior guard Andre Owens and freshman point guard Lanny Smith. Penders' teams at Texas were often led by superior guard play, particularly the 1989-90 team that went to the Elite Eight with Joey Wright, Lance Blanks and Travis Mays.

"I've been hearing a lot about how he gets up and down, and he just lets his guards go. One of the coaches who's worked with him told me 'You don't even understand what you're getting yourself into, because you're going to get up and down like no other (team), but he's going to make you the best player you can possibly be,'" Owens said.

Smith had a promising freshman season, averaging 8.4 points and 3.2 assists per game, and will be looked to for more next season. Smith said he's eager to play in Penders' aggressive, up-tempo system.

"I've watched tape of some of the Texas teams he coached and that up-tempo style, I think that fits my game really well, so I think we'll enjoy that type of game," Smith said.

Penders says he will evaluate the talent on the team over the next few weeks as he also hits the recruiting trail, though he said he already knew about his new guard tandem.

"I don't think there are going to be too many better backcourts (in the nation)," Penders said. "I'm very pleased to have Lanny Smith and Andre Owens."

But as former coach Ray McCallum learned, there's a lot more to coaching than just playing the games. Penders will have to win the recruiting wars, especially for the top players in the Houston area. Smith said he thinks Penders can do it.

"I think he'll be able to get some top players and bring some guys in here," Smith said.

UH assistant coach Melvin Haralson worked with Penders for six years at Texas and will be an assistant again for Penders at Houston. He said Penders will be successful in recruiting.

"This will help us get in on some recruits we might not have gotten before," Haralson said.

Penders will have the next few weeks to make a late charge at recruiting some players for next season and getting his team used to his style. Penders has had success at every program he's been at, and he plans to have success at Houston.

Houston fans will be hoping that's the case.
 

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