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Sports

Thorpe, Lafayette leave lasting mark

Silent Assassin 

Ronnie Turner

When rebuilding a college basketball program from the ground up, coaches certainly want to do so with talented players. But talent isn't the only thing coaches look for.

Coaches should want players who they know can handle business on and off the court. They should want players who are disciplined and will do whatever it takes to win. 

In short, they should want players like UH senior forward Jahmar Thorpe and senior guard Oliver Lafayette. Over the last two seasons, these two have exhibited the aforementioned characteristics while helping to launch the Cougars' return to respectability.

Saturday, fans received one more chance to see these two run up and down the court at Hofheinz Pavilion when the Cougars played host to Texas-El Paso. As it turns out, fans were allowed to see Thorpe and Lafayette leave as winners, after the Cougars defeated the Miners 74-67.

Both players came up huge at the end of the game. Thorpe hit some huge baskets and Lafayette produced crucial plays on defense in the closing minutes to preserve the victory. 

Their performances left UH head coach Tom Penders heaping loads of praise upon them after the game.

"I've been (coaching) a very long time, and these two kids are special people," Penders said. "They belong (at UH), they're legitimate student-athletes that I believe will both graduate. 

"They have never given me one minute of trouble. It was nice to see them go out winning and in front of a good crowd (of 4,826)."

Penders certainly didn't miss when he brought these two to campus more than two years ago. They've more than proved their worth to the program.

But they came here with plans to lead the Cougars (16-14) to an NCAA Tournament berth. Their last chance comes this week with the Cougars set to compete in the Conference USA Tournament in Memphis.

"I told Coach Penders and (assistant coach) Melvin Haralson that I would get them there," Lafayette said. "I still have one more chance to (do so), and I'm going to fight my hardest to get them there."
 

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