Penders resigns at Houston

I kinda feel like I owe an apology to ex-University of Houston basketball coach Tom Penders.See,I blasted Penders for not doing a good enough job at Houston and saying he deserved to be on the hot seat. Mainly regarding recruiting and lack of NCAA tournament appearances.This was the year Penders finally got the Cougars back to the tournament,the first time since 1992.I thought this would be the kick start the program would finally get after years of being irrelevant.To my surprise,Penders stepped down as head coach.Maybe he saw that the end was near and decided it was best for him to go instead of having a messy departure,like the one he had at Texas.You have to remember,he was not hired by current athletic director Mack Rhoades,and unless you’re winning big caoches don’t usually stay long when a new regime comes in.Another reason could’ve been the interview with a New York Times reporter,which Penders stated that Houston had more problems that meet the eye.Like water from the bathroom that leaks onto the court.The facilities not being up to date.Penders having to buy some $70,000 worth of up to date tv and video equipment to scout opponents.Now I can see why they couldn’t tap into the rich talent base around the state when it came to recruiting.

  There are rumors that Rhoades may hire former Kentucky,Texas A&M,and UTEP coach,Billy Gillispie,who was hired at UTEP when Rhoades was associate athletic director there.That may be a good hire,but knowing what I know now,Houston basketball is more of a challenge than I thought it was.Penders   says he’s not done coaching and may very well land elsewhere before next season.Good luck to him and his future endeavors.Maybe the challenge he takes on will deal more with on the court issues(talent) than off court (facilities,boosters,alums who don’t care).

The Hot Seat Vol.2

The college basketball season is barely two weeks old and one hot seat candidate has been given his walking papers.Dereck Whittenburg,formerly head coach of the Fordham Rams was fired yesterday after a 1-4 start.Fordham is not exactly a basketball factory and whoever gets the unenviable task of taking over this job will have a helluva time getting this program on the winning track.

Of course there are more coaches that need to make progress or face being unemployed.

Sidney Lowe,North Carolina State-Lowe’s lifetime pass from 1983 is close to expiring.Being in a conference with traditonal heayweights like Duke and North Carolina makes it tougher for him to temper expectations in Raleigh.The best team he had on paper two years ago,failed to live up to the hype and the 15-33 record in ACC play doesn’t help his cause.I think he needs at least an NIT appearance to keep his job.

Matt Doherty,SMU-SMU isn’t a place where basketball is the number one option around there.I think it would be unwise to fire Doherty,but losing is making it easier for administrators to state their case against him.Being in Dallas I would think he would be able to get some decent talent there.I don’t watch very much SMU basketball,so maybe they do have some talent that has yet to come around.If that’s true will Doherty be around to coach it.

Tom Penders,Houston-He’s not on any hot seat lists and this may be a surprise to many.Penders has had a few teams that should have made the Big Dance,but somehow managed to blow winnable late season games.This once proud program hasn’t been there since the 1990’s(can’t remember which year it was) and I can imagine the big wigs in Cougar country are itching to get back there.I know all the better recruits in the state aren’t going there,but he should be able to land a few of them.The juco’s and lesser knowns just aren’t getting it done.In my opinion they should be on par with with Memphis,well not exactly,but a least a notch below with all the talent coming out of the state of Texas.I don’t know if he’s not recruiting them or turned off the area coaches or what,but he needs a tournament appearance this year or he could be out.