Tom Penders

A View to the Rooms

Why Is Everybody Getting Laid Off But Tom Penders?

You know, as the NCAA Tournament starts today, I can't help but notice that the Houston Cougars have once again failed to gain entry into the field of 65. Sure, they're playing in something called the CBI, but that's really not the same thing, is it? (Especially seeing as how the Cougars lost las ... More >>

Why Is Everybody Getting Laid Off But Tom Penders?

You know, as the NCAA Tournament starts today, I can't help but notice that the Houston Cougars have once again failed to gain entry into the field of 65. Sure, they're playing in something called the CBI, but that's really not the same thing, is it? (Especially seeing as how the Cougars lost las ... More >>

UH's Choice For New Athletic Director: From USC Or Akron?

The University of Houston has supposedly narrowed its search for an Athletic Director to replace Dave Maggard down to two choices. The first choice is Brandon Martin, a former college basketball player for USC who is currently the senior associate AD for the Trojans. The second choice is Mack Rhoade ... More >>

UH Hoops Still Dreaming Of Making It Back To March Madness

Photo courtesy UH​Guy V. Lewis last coached the University of Houston men's basketball team in 1986. His last great team lost in the 1984 NCAA title game to the Georgetown Hoyas. He left a legacy of 27 straight winning seasons. Fourteen seasons with 20-plus wins. Fourteen NCAA tournament appearanc ... More >>

UH Hoops, Battling The Second-Rate Reputation Of Conference USA

​Tom Penders has been tasked with returning the Houston Cougar basketball program to relevance. And that's a task at which he feels he's been successful. But he's yet to succeed with the ultimate goal of basketball relevance, and that's getting into the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.Now, the ... More >>

Coog Hoops Has Leaders, Bulk And A Good Shot At March Madness

Photo courtesy UH​The time has come. The time for Tom Penders and his Cougars basketball team to show their worth. The hopes are that this squad is one that will make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the early 1990s.There are a couple of things working in the team's favor. First and ... More >>

Coogs Open The Basketball Season With A Solid, If Expected, Win

Photo courtesy UH​On Monday night, Cal State-Fullerton defeated UCLA in one of those so-called easy basketball openers that so-called major powers are supposed to easily win. Kind of like Houston's Tuesday night opener against Nicholls State was supposed to be one of the easy games for a so-call ... More >>

UH Football And Basketball Have Big Weekends On Tap

​One season is ending. One season is just beginning. But for the Houston Cougars, it's a big Thanksgiving weekend either way with the football team playing for the C-USA West title, and the basketball team up in Alaska playing against Big 12 power Oklahoma in the Great Alaska Shootout on Thurs ... More >>

Cougar Basketball So Far: Lots Of Offense, Not Much D

Photo courtesy UH​The question mark for the Houston Cougars basketball team coming into this season was the defense. Head coach Tom Penders noted that when interviewed during practice before the season, and he reiterated it after the first game against Nicholls State.And it's something he reiter ... More >>

Coogs Basketball's Three-Headed Monster, And How They Had To Go To Alaska To Play Oklahoma

Photo courtesy UH​Lost amidst the anxiety over the Houston Cougar football team and possible bowl game scenarios, the men's basketball team took to the court at Hofheinz Pavilion on Sunday afternoon and engaged the Texas A&M-Corpus Christ Islanders in a fast-paced game that saw the Cougars eme ... More >>

UH Struggles Against Troy, Exam Schedule

Photo courtesy UH​One of the myriad NCAA justifications for the lack of a Division One football playoff is the distraction that such a playoff would provide to players attempting to write papers, take finals and just get through the end of the semester. ut maybe the NCAA should check with Houston ... More >>

Tough Stretch For UH Begins This Weekend

Photo courtesy UH​The Cougar basketball team is taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs tomorrow afternoon, and it's this game, probably more than any other non-conference game, that head coach Tom Penders has been pointing his guys toward. This is the game he discussed the most in off-season cha ... More >>

Coog Basketball Fever! Catch It For Free! With Food, Drinks & Sean Pendergast

The Houston Press has a suite at Hofheinz Pavilion, and we feel like sharing the love.So we're giving away 10 tickets to the UH-UTEP basketball game January 13. You not only get the tickets, you not only get free food and drinks, you not only get to marvel at Tom Penders' hair....You also get to han ... More >>

Coogs Lost Their Shooting Touch This Weekend

The bench did not show up for the Houston Cougars Saturday afternoon. Their three-point shooting ability took the afternoon off. Kelvin Lewis and Adam Brown struggled from the field the entire day. And Aubrey Coleman had a flash back to the days of Phi Slama Jama where making a free throw was cause ... More >>

Coogs' Shooting Touch Returns

Photo courtesy UH​All that it took for the Houston Cougars to recover from their last-minute loss to the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday afternoon was a phone call and a little trap. And recover the team did nicely, defeating The Citadel last night 81-58.The phone call in question was place ... More >>

Coogs Still In Transition As Conference Play Nears

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougar men's basketball team found just the way to go into the Christmas break, with a 105-81 win over the TCU Horned Frogs that was close for the first half of the first half, but then saw the Cougars move into pull-away mode. Kelvin Lewis was hot in the first ... More >>

Coogs Come Out Flat-Footed Against La. Tech

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougars (7-4) lost 99-94 to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (12-2) last night in what UH head coach Tom Penders called a "rock-em-sock-em up-and-down great basketball game." And despite the loss, it was one of the more exciting games played inside Hofheinz Pavilion this s ... More >>

Real Texans Hate The Longhorns

​It's an exciting time to be a Longhorn fan. If UT beats Alabama Thursday, it will mark only the second time in the team's storied history that they will be crowned college football champions while having black players on their roster.All of Texas is thrilled with the title chase, with the possibl ... More >>

Rice Proves To Be Cure For Struggling Coogs

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougars didn't see the old year out in the fashion they wanted, and they sure haven't seen the new year in in the fashion they desired. Coming into last night's battle with the Rice Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse, the Cougars had lost three straight, including a stunning N ... More >>

UH Loses: Fans Tossed From The Game

Photo by UH​Hofheinz Pavilion was a rather interesting place to be on Saturday night. There was the Houston Cougars playing a conference opponent in front a national television audience. There was a close game that saw the Cougars down by only one point with 1:19 remaining in the game.Oh, yeah, ... More >>

Players-Only Meeting Helps Inspire Coog Win

Photo courtesy UH​A glance at the box score from last night's 75-65 Cougar win over the UTEP Miners might make one think that the key to victory was Kelvin Lewis nailing three three-pointers on his way to 13 points and 10 rebounds. Or maybe Maurice McNeil roaming the paint for 12 points and 10 r ... More >>

Coogs Lose...Is The Clock Ticking On Tom Penders?

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougar football and basketball teams have one thing in common: neither can defeat the University of Central Florida.But whereas football coach Kevin Sumlin just received a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract extension, it might well be that this 78-71 Cougar lo ... More >>

Coogs Stay Alive, Beating Marshall

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougars were coming off a two-game losing streak, and they were playing the Marshall Thundering Herd, one of the surprise teams of C-USA (but also coming off a two-game losing streak). With the losing streak, the Cougars were falling out of contention in C-USA, and a ... More >>

Coogs Hoping For Big Things From Kendrick Washington

​One of the main reasons the Cougars have been floundering on the court has been the lack of a consistent, dominating inside presence. When there's no inside game, it's not possible for the Cougars to play their preferred fastbreak type of offense.That's why the recent emergence of freshman Kendr ... More >>

UH's Tom Penders, Maybe On The Way Out The Door

Photo courtesy UH​The Tom Penders radio show has the potential to be rather interesting tonight. Interesting not so much because of the basketball team, but because of the rumors and turmoil currently swirling around the team, primarily those rumors surrounding the coaching staff.The known facts a ... More >>

Cougars Aren't Giving Up As C-USA Tournament Begins

Photo courtesy UH​A season that began with high hopes came quickly crashing down for the Cougars, and with Saturday's loss to the Tulane Green Wave, the Cougars finished the season at 15-15. The C-USA Tournament begins today, and the Cougars find themselves as the seventh seed preparing to face a ... More >>

Coogs Off To Good Start In The C-USA Tournament

Photo courtesy UH​The Houston Cougars won their first game in the C-USA men's basketball tournament yesterday, defeating ECU 93-80.The game was close for most of the first half, but the Cougars went on a spurt at the end to take the 50-37 halftime lead. The Cougars continued that spurt in the se ... More >>

Cougars Are, At Long Last, A Part Of March Madness Again

Photo courtesy UH​I owe Tom Penders and his players an apology. I thought that there was no chance of the Houston Cougars running the table in the C-USA men's basketball tournament, and thus making the NCAA Tournament. And I wrote such.Boy was I wrong.The Cougars pulled off the expected defeat ... More >>

Tonight: The Coogs In The Big Dance

Photo courtesy UH​The improbable post-season run of the Houston Cougars continues tonight as they face the fourth-seeded Maryland Terrapins in a first-round Midwest Regional match-up. It's no secret that Maryland, which tied Duke for the regular-season championship of the ACC, is the favorite in ... More >>

Coogs Show Sparks, But Are One-And-Done In The NCAAs

Photo courtesy UH​On Friday, I laid out a series of necessary keys that the Houston Cougars had to meet were they to have any chance of defeating the Maryland Terrapins in Friday night's opening-round NCAA Tournament match. You've seen the final score by now: Maryland 89, Houston 77. But at th ... More >>

Looks Like Penders Is Out As UH Hoops Coach

​The stories are trickling out that Tom Penders will not be returning to coach the Houston Cougars next season. Penders was on thin ice for most of the season thanks more to a lack of fan support and general alumni unrest than anything he's done coaching-wise. There were some thoughts that the ... More >>

Penders Is Definitely Not Leaving "To Spend More Time With His Family"

Photo courtesy UH​What has been rumored since even before the basketball season began came true today. There was a press conference at the University of Houston in which it was announced that Tom Penders would not be returning as the head coach of the Houston Cougars.There was a strangeness abou ... More >>

Exit, Tom Penders; Enter.....To Be Determined

Photo from wikipedia​It was rather surreal inside the Carl Lewis Auditorium at the University of Houston Athletics/Alumni Center yesterday afternoon. Let's start with members of the Houston media actually showing up for something that didn't involve a free buffet -- there hasn't been that large ... More >>

UH Makes An Odd Choice For Its Basketball Program

​When Tom Penders resigned last week, University of Houston Athletic Director Mack Rhoades made it clear that he was looking for more than just a head coach of the basketball team. He was looking for a partner. Somebody who would not only turn the team into a winner, but would also grow the pro ... More >>

Game Time: Cheer Up Coogs Fan, There's Still A Chance Mack Rhoades Just Has A Killer Sense Of Humor

​Today is the first day of the Shell Houston Open. If you remember, last year the first day had to be postponed because of some nasty winds that had blown into the Houston area. Suffice it to say that if there is a strong breeze in the Houston area on this first day of the Shell Houston Open, it's ... More >>

UH Fans Welcome (To A Degree) New Hoops Coach James Dickey

Photo courtesy UH​Well, Houston Cougar basketball fans. It's official. The new head coach of the men's basketball is James Dickey, former head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, and for most of this past decade, either an assistant coach to Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State or doing TV analysis ... More >>

Richard Justice Hates (Hated?) The Coogs In A Disappearing Blog Item

Justice's post was here one day, gone the next​Let me get my bias out in the open. I'm a UH graduate. Class of 1988. Graduated with membership in the Honors College -- only then it was just the Honors Program. I've attended various UH sporting events from before I started at the school, to the pre ... More >>

UH Ends Dismal Season Dismally: Can Coach Rayner Noble Survive?

Rayner Noble, looking desperately for bullpen help​The Houston Cougars finished their baseball season last Friday, losing 10-6 to the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles team that won the C-USA Tournament championship on Saturday night. It was a game that didn't need to be played. The Cougars had l ... More >>

Rayner Noble Gone After 16 Years As UH Baseball Coach; Who's Next?

UH is in the market for a baseball coach​When I wrote my wrap-up of the Houston Cougars baseball season last week, I had a change of heart and didn't write something that I actually believed. Instead I went with the conventional wisdom that coach Rayner Noble would return for another season ... More >>

What? Tom Penders' UH Team Had Trouble With Academics?

Go to class!! If you can​Here's a surprise -- the University of Houston men's basketball program has been warned by the NCAA about poor academic performance, the Houston Chronicle reported. It's not surprising because of the absolute jaw-dropping notion that UH athletes might not be racking up GP ... More >>

20 Possible New Names For The UH Bookstore/Merchandise Shop

What, "Cougar Crap" doesn't work for you?​The University of Houston is having a contest, and you are invited to enter. The Cougar merchandise store inside the Athletics/Alumni Center has been taken over by Barnes & Noble, and will henceforth no longer be known as Cougar Authentic. Thus, the un ... More >>

UH's James Dickey Prepares For His Deliverance

uh.com Sure he's smiling now. But wait until the season starts​It may seem like it's been awhile since Mack Rhoades and the Houston Cougars hired James Dickey to take over the men's basketball program.But in many ways, the time has been flying by as Dickey and his staff have attempted to se ... More >>

Cougar Basketball: Stressing The Fundamentals

I said dunk it, not Dunkin​Houston Cougar basketball fans might be in for a bit of a shock when basketball season gets underway next month. That's because they'll be seeing something that they haven't seen in a few years: An offense running plays. The Cougars started practice on Friday afte ... More >>

Resurrecting Phi Slama Jama

Can UH resurrect its basketball glory days?

Roadrunners Speed Past Cougars

The Coogs were missing the Slama and the Jama against UTSA​That the Houston Cougars (6-4) played a basketball game on Saturday night was not too surprising. That none of the so-called Cougar fans could be bothered to come by Hofheinz Pavilion for the game was not too surprising either. In ... More >>

The So-So Year In Cougar Sports: 25 Things From 2010

The year in UH sports​Since I'm taking a look at the sports year that is about to come to an end, I thought I would focus on the Houston Cougars, one of the teams that I cover for the Press. So... 1. The men's basketball team shocked the students, alums, administration, fans, C-USA, and the ... More >>

Rice Owls Hit The Jackpot, And A Three-Pointer Or Two

The Owls are heading to Vegas, baby​The Rice Owls played the first game of the Las Vegas Hoops Classic last night, and the Owls improved their record to 5-4 as they defeated the (6-5) UALR Trojans 65-55. But though the game was part of a Las Vegas basketball tournament, the game was played a ... More >>

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly: The Year Just Past In Cougar Sports

John RoyalCase Keenum was the Man of the Year for the Cougars​Yes, it's that time of year. That time of year when I take a look back at the year just past. On Friday, I looked back at the sports year for the Rice Owls. Today, let's take a look at the top 25 events, in no particular order, f ... More >>