Quote:#58 Houston Cougars
Conference USA

2004-05: 18-14, 9-7, 6th
2004-05 postseason: NIT

By Joel Welser

Houston returns four starters and will be a team that will benefit from the new look CUSA. If the conference gets a second team into the NCAA Tournament, the Cougars have a great shot at making it. Coach Tom Penders was extremely successful his first season in Houston and will look to continue that trend.

Who’s Out: Andre Owens is the big loss. The guard averaged a team high 18.3 points and added 4.8 boards, 2.1 assists and 1.3 steals. Joining Owens is a large list of key roleplayers that spent most of the time coming off the bench. Guards Bryan Shelton, Cedrick Hensley and Kevin Barber are gone. Hensley saw the most action of the group last year averaging 9.4 minutes per game. Forwards Dwight Jones II and Englebert Cherrington both had starting experience. Jones averaged 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds last year, while Cherrington put up 2.2 points and 3.0 boards per contest. Center Rodney Hannah played in 28 contests, averaging 2.2 points and 3.0 rebounds.

Who’s In: The newcomers have plenty of talent to replace the loss of the departing roleplayers and add a new dimension of athleticism and talent. Power forwards Jahmar Thorpe, Richard Young and Lamar Roberson will add quality depth to the frontcourt. Thorpe averaged 18.1 points and 11.0 rebounds last year at Western Oklahoma Community College. At 6-6, Thorpe is undersized for a power forward but he’s a big 225 pounds and will battle underneath and earn plenty of minutes off the bench. Young is a solid shot blocker and rebounder and has the experience to contribute immediately after playing two years at Hillsborough (FL) Community College. Roberson is a long, athletic forward who can slash and wander out and make some outside shots. Center Emmanuel Adeife, a native of Nigeria, has some work to do before he’ll see quality minutes, but has loads of potential. A trio of shooting guards make this squad extremely deep. Tristan Martin is a great athlete who can break backboards with the best of them. The Toronto, Ontario product averaged 11.2 points per game at Midland College last year and will see plenty of playing time this year. Oliver Lafayette is another experienced guard who spent two years at Brown Mackie College. Corey Bloom has good size at 6-5 and has a nice stroke from long range. The New Orleans product earned All-State accolades after averaging 15.6 points per game last year at Brother Martin High School.

Who to Watch: Lanny Smith will take over the roll of leading scorer for Houston in the absence of Andre Owens. Smith averaged 14.7 points as a sophomore last year and was the only Cougar to start all 32 contests. He shot over 40% from beyond the arc making 2.5 three’s per game. The Missouri City, Texas native also led the team averaging 4.2 assists. Smith is an experienced floor leader having started 58 of the 59 games he has played in. The only knock on Smith is the turnovers, which wasn’t too horrible last year with 3.2 per outing. That number should decrease this year as it did after his freshman campaign as Smith becomes more comfortable running the show.

Projected Conference Rank: Along with Lanny Smith; Ramon Dyer, Brian Latham, Chris Lawson, Andrew Francis, Darrius Brannon and Sergio de Randamie all have starting experience. Throw in the talented newcomers and this has the potential to be a great team, if they can come together and play well as a team. A 3rd place finish is good, but it won’t do what it used to in the conference. Two teams from CUSA might make the NCAAs, but the 3rd place squad is headed to the NIT.

Projected Post-season Tournament: NIT

Projected Starting Five:
Lanny Smith, Junior, Guard, 14.7 points per game
Brian Latham, Senior, Guard, 8.2 points per game
Chris Lawson, Senior, Guard, 4.8 points per game
Ramon Dyer, Senior, Forward, 9.8 points per game
Sergio de Randamie, Senior, Center, 1.3 points per game

I think you will see a team much better than last year's team. If this team lives up to expectations, the NIT is a lock and the NCAAs possible.