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Sports

Penders' goal to stock up on guards

UH head coach wants three for 2007-08 system

by CHRIS ELLIOTT
The Daily Cougar

The departures of guard Oliver Lafayette and forward Jahmar "Dunk Master Flex" Thorpe following the end of the 2006-07 season left some question marks as to how the makeup of next season's men's basketball team would be affected.

One such question mark was cleared up Wednesday when head coach Tom Penders and associate head coach and recruiting director Melvin Haralson convinced 6-6 forward Milos Klimovic to sign a letter of intent with the Cougars. The Bosnian three-point marksman will be given the opportunity to compete with returning role player Dion Dowell and fall signee Horace McGloster for playing time at two forward positions Penders said will be very competitive in the 2007-08 season.

"(Klimovic) is a three or four that can really shoot the ball," Penders said. "He's probably a better shooter than anybody we have on the program. He can also rebound. He's a strong kid. He's a tough kid. He'll bring a really good dimension to the ball club, because he can really stretch the defense out. People are going to have to guard him. Where some nights some of our players are inconsistent from the perimeter, he's more of a consistent shooter.

"Horace McGloster is a forward who can play a little bit of guard. He can guard a guard. There's going to be a lot of competition at the three and four positions next year."

The battle for playing time in the frontcourt could seem like a game of patty cake compared to what guards will be put through. Once the signing period is over, Penders said he expects to have inked three guards -- all of whom have the chance to get significant playing time.

"I like to have a lot of those (combination guard) types on the floor," Penders said. "We haven't yet had that since I've been here. I'd like to get to that. Some of my better teams have had as many as three point guards on the floor at the same time." 

During the 2005-06 campaign, Penders came close to his dream of being able to run a three-point-guard-type team. Brian Latham had the role as the Cougars true point guard, and Lanny Smith was the perfect combination guard that Penders said he'd been waiting for. 

At that time, however, Oliver Lafayette was at the three position. Though Lafayette's ball handling and passing showed drastic improvement in his final season as a Cougar, they were not where they needed to be in the 2005-06 season to qualify him as a legitimate combination guard. With those guys running the show, Penders just missed making the Big Dance and finished the season with a 21-10 record following a second-round loss in the National Invitational Tournament.

Returning seniors Smith and Robert "Fluff" McKiver will make up two-thirds of the system Penders is looking for. In the last two years, they've become the faces of Penders' run-and-gun offensive philosophy, which he said is appealing to other recruits. 

"It's not unusual. That's just a nice system I'd like to have," Penders said. "Now we're getting more interest from those kind of players. They see our system, and they know it's not a one point guard system."

Penders described freshman guard Brockeith Pane out of Dallas Carter High School and sophomore guard Dashaun Williams out of Monroe College (Bronx, N.Y.) as two guys who can come in and immediately contribute to the program.

"Brockeith Pane is only a freshman, but he's a heck of a basketball player. He averaged 24.7 points per game," Penders said. "He can score inside. He can score outside. He's a strong, physical kid and a good defensive player. He's the kind of athlete I'm sure is going to play -- how many minutes will be up to him.

"Deshaun Williams brings some savvy with him. He's a guy that can play both guard positions. We didn't bring him in to sit on the bench. So it's going to be very competitive out there."

Penders said he expects to sign one more guard before the end of the signing period. 

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