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2 \\ Monday, August 27, 2012 The Daily Cougar

My goal for the sports section this fall is to provide the most all-inclusive outlet available for students, alumni and fans in regards to University of Houston athletics.

This semester, we will cover stories our readers not just want to know but need to know. This is our

campus, and no media source should be more reliable in getting to know our players and coaches than The Daily

Cougar. Along with my top-notch staff writers, I will go beyond the box score to provide stories readers can’t fi nd anywhere else.

With the landscape changing for UH athletics and the Cougars joining the Big East next season, we will also seek to document the 16th and fi nal year for Houston in Conference USA.

Along the way, we will take a look

at the highs and lows of our athletic program in C-USA while recapping defi ning moments that caused each sport to get where it is now.

In a state where football is the religion, head coach Tony Levine’s Cougars will receive the coverage they deserve — but our section encompasses more than that. These are exciting times for our soccer and volleyball programs, both under the direction of fi rst-year head coaches. Covering tradition-rich programs like cross country and golf will also be at the top of our priorities, along with women’s basketball and swimming.

Beyond our print edition, the same quality sports coverage will be available on our website in addition to play-by-play updates through our Twitter account.

It is an honor to cover a premier athletic department with a history of fi nal-four appearances, 16 NCAA golf championships spanning four decades, Cotton Bowl victories, a

Heisman Trophy winner and many more accolades.

Like the readers of this section, UH sports are my passion and I look forward to covering our games with the same enthusiasm this fall.

Comprehensively covering last season in C-USA our mission

Section editorAndrew Pate

Assistant editorChristopher Shelton

Staff writersChannler HillHarrison LeeAlfred MendezRoman PetrowskiMónica Rojas

Contact informationEmail: [email protected]

Phone: (713) 743-5303

STAFF

Feature Cover Photo

The cover photograph features junior running back Charles Sims and senior offensive lineman Jacolby Ashworth cel-

ebrating during last season’s 73-34 victory against rival Rice Owls at Robertson Stadium. Prior to this season, both players received national recognition with Ashworth named to the Lombardi Award watch list and Sims to the Maxwell Award watch list among others. — Andrew Pate/The Daily Cougar

EDITOR’S NOTE

AndrewPate

The Daily Cougar Monday, August 27, 2012 // 3

Monica RojasStaff writer

Three games into the season, the Lady Cougars stand at 2-1-0 after defeating the HBU Huskies 3-2 on Sunday at Robertson Stadium.

Prior to the game, the Coogs faced Northwestern State at their exhibition match on Sept. 11, and defeated them with a goal by senior Katelyn Rhodes. The fol-lowing game resulted in 2-0 loss to SFA on Sept. 17.

“We are a new staff,” head coach Chris Pfau said. “We didn’t have the spring with them (so) it’s going to take some time getting comfortable with each other. That will change from game to game. Our big aspiration is to get everything figured out before we hit conference. We’ll take some losses trying to figure things out but the big picture is we want to be strong going in to conference.”

Even so, junior midfielder Jasmine Martinez says the team is adjusting well.

“Everyone is willing to do whatever he has us doing,”

Martinez said. “He’s bringing in a new style and everyone is working really well with it, getting to know each other and staying positive on becoming

champions.”The new coaches’ style of play,

a four-two-three-one differs from the four-three-three the team was accustomed to under former five-year head coach Susan Quill.

“I think we all have the same idea of what we think soccer should be,” assistant coach Suzie Grech said.“We know it’s a beau-tiful game and we want to keep it that beautiful game. In the past they’ve played much more direct. We’re trying to a play a little bit more simple yet still attacking and going after teams. There are still things we’re looking to tweak

but at the same time we’re find-ing a nice foundation as to where we want to take this team. ”

Such tweaking according to Pfau includes building on the positive and addressing problems.

“I thought we kept our struc-ture very well (Sunday),” Pfau said.

“I thought we attacked very well, we created some very good goals, and we were dangerous at times and so we will build on that. We got to fix (things) defen-sively. We’re not strong in the air and we don’t walk up very well so we got to fix that, and going forward, we’ll be a good team.”.

Conference USA games began Tuesday against SMU at Robertson Stadium and run through Oct. 26 in a culminating game against the Rice Owls at Robertson.

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Everyone’s willing to do whatever it

takes. He’s bringing in a new style and everyone is working really well with it, getting to know each other and staying positive on becoming champions.”

Jasmine Martinez, junior midfi elder talking about the addition of new head coach Chris Pfau to the soccer program

Coogs keep up attacking nature, use non-conference schedule for tweaks

SOCCER

Like the football program, UH’s soccer team will be playing its fi nal season in Robertson Stadium this fall. Away from home, UH faces a challenging schedule including games against Arizona and Arizona State. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Under direction of Pfau, soccer kicks off season with new style

HOME SCHEDULEDATE OPPONENT TIMEAug 11 Northwestern State W 2-1

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Sept 21 SMU 7:00 p.m.

Sept 23 Tulsa 1:00 p.m.

Oct 5 East Carolina 7:00 p.m.

Oct 7 Marshall 1:00 p.m.

Oct 19 Colorado College 7:00 p.m.

Oct 21 UTEP 1:00 p.m.

Oct 26 Rice 7:00 p.m.

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VOLLEYBALL

Harrison LeeStaff writer

Coming off a 19-11 campaign last year, along with a fi fth place preseason ranking in a Conference USA poll, the UH vol-leyball program has plenty of extra motivation.

“We know that’s nowhere near where we’re going to fi nish; obviously we’re expecting to fi nish fi rst,” senior Stephanie Nwa-chukwu said. “Being that underdog always lights that fi re under your belly.”

With several upperclassmen returning, the Cougars look primed and ready to be plenty competitive and eager to improve even further.

A new sight on the sidelines is new Head Coach Kaddie Platt. Platt, who joined UH after a 17-year career at Houston Baptist, brings with her new Assistant Coaches Jenny Andrew and David Hyte.

Sophomore setter, Caitlin Ogle-tree, appreciates Platt’s demanding

demeanor.“Our coaches are expecting so

much from us,” Ogletree said. “At

the moment you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is so much,’ but once you’re done with practice, you

realize that they believe in you. Whenever you have (coaches) believing in you and pushing you

I feel like we are very capable of keeping this conference title in hand.”

If appearances act as any indicator, Coach Platt does not have any fears about her fi rst year at UH.

“I’m a very competitive person and I’m good at building teams,” Platt said. “We will defi nitely be a different team today than we will be in two weeks.”

The season kicks off against Toledo on Aug. 24, with the fi rst home game taking place Sept. 7, against UTSA. Tickets are still available for 12 more total home games this season, but they are selling fast. Home games are held at the Athletics/Alumni Center and expectations are high.

“We want to win Conference,” Platt said. “Settling for anything less than that would be disap-pointing. I feel like we have the talent to do it, we just have to build the right team to do that.”

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Under fi rst-year coach Kaddie Platt, the Houston Cougars volleyball program is poised to take on a diffi cult schedule that includes matches against Ohio State, Missouri and Florida State among others. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Preseason poll provides motivation to veteran program

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OFFENSE

Andrew PateSports editor

Despite all the changes in the Houston Cougars’ offense this sea-son — new quarterback, offensive coordinator, receiving corps, even uniforms — don’t be surprised if it still looks familiar.

“Somebody who’s been out of town since last December and comes to watch us play Sept. 1, they wouldn’t necessarily know there’s been a change,” said fi rst-year head coach Tony Levine. “What we’ve been doing here is what we (look for while recruit-ing), so I wanted to fi nd somebody in that shared philosophy.”

Under new Offensive Coordina-tor Mike Nesbitt, who subscribes to the same fast-paced, air-raid philosophy of his predecessors, the Cougars are expected to appear similar to last season.

“I think we’re going to have the same strengths we had last year,” said junior running back Charles Sims. “We’re basically running the same offense, just with a lot of different signals.”

That’s where the parallels end, though. Under center, redshirt

sophomore quarterback David Piland will take the reigns, two years following his appearance during season-ending injuries to Case Keenum and Cotton Turner.

“I think we’ve got a unique situation in our program in that

when you lose your quarterback to graduation, the guy replacing him really has no game experience,” Levine said. “We’ve got a young man who has eight games of start-ing experience under his belt and is unique in the situation as well

— that we were able to redshirt him this past year.”

The normally pass-happy Cou-gars, who threw the ball 682 times and averaged 450 yards passing per game a season ago, will see signifi cant contributions from a

largely new-receiving corps.“I’m not sure what it costs to

buy a game program when you enter Robertson Stadium, but I recommend that fans in Septem-ber at least pay the couple dollars and pick up one on the way in,” Levine said. “We’re going to have a bunch of guys catching footballs and scoring touchdowns for us, and you might need to match their jersey numbers with their name and picture in the program.”

The mix of inexperienced players, an offensive line of four returning starters and Sims — who can break one at any moment — has the pre-season predictors playing the guessing game on where the Cougars will fi nish.

“We’re really not concerned with what people think we’re going to do this season,” Levine said. “Some people have us doing real well, and a lot of people have us rebuilding and struggling this sea-son. We’ll look back in December and fi nd out how our regular sea-son went and hopefully look back in January and have a successful bowl game.”

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Offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt will seek out ways to get the ball to play maker Charles Sims. Against Tulane last season, Sims averaged 20.7 yards per carry, breaking a 58-year school record. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Nesbitt takes command of air-raid attack

DEFENSE

Christopher SheltonAssistant sports editor

In order for the Cougars to compete for a Conference-USA title, the defense has to have a great impact, and there are chal-lenges ahead.

The Cougars are switching from a 3-4 to a 4-3 defensive scheme. Former linebacker coach

Jamie Bryant will take over as defensive coordina-tor for Bryan Stewart,

who departed for Maryland.Bryant is looking to turnover a

new leaf and trot out a competi-tive defense on opening day.

“(I’m) not interested in last year,” Bryant said. “All I’m inter-ested in is how good of a defense we can be this year and worry about what’s ahead of us.”

Linebackers were the strength of the defense last year. Unfortu-nately, two key parts of the line backing core are no longer eli-gible. Gone are Marcus McGraw, who led the team in tackles with 141, and Sammy Brown, who led the nation in tackles for loss.

In steps a new crop, headlined by returning senior starter Phillip Steward, who led the nation in interceptions as a linebacker last year. Steward will be flanked with Derrick Mathews and fellow senior, Everett Daniels.

Daniels will attempt to fill the heavy cleats of McGraw, starting as middle linebacker.

“Quite frankly, out of the three linebackers this spring, Everett has played the best,” Tony Levine said at media day. “I’m looking forward to seeing what he does this year.”

Steward, who had six inter-ceptions last season, says he pushes the secondary to get better.

“I like to challenge them; say-ing I’ll have more picks than you this game so we can go out there and compete,” Steward said.

With a push from Steward and some real talent, the secondary should be a strength of this defense. The Cougars are in a good position at corner with Thorpe Award Watch List recipi-ent D.J. Hayden and Zachary McMillian manning receivers on the outside.

Chris Cermin and Jeffery Lewis will start at the safety positions.

The defensive line is chocked

full of veterans who will rotate along that four-man front. Line coach Carlton Hall likes to keep his team fresh.

Dominic Miller, on the inside, is a name to watch. The Blinn College transfer had 25 tackles from the nose guard position last season.

Radermon Scypion “had as good a spring as anyone in our program,” Levine said. Scypion and Joey Mbu will split time from the tackle position.

From the defensive end positions, Zeke Riser and Eric Braswell will supply pressure to opposing quarterbacks.

Efrem Oliphant, Jon Witten and Desmond Pulliam converted to defensive ends since less line backers are needed to run the 4-3.

Bryant says he knows that it takes a team effort to field a great defense.

“We better have 11 guys that are the strength of this defense and hopefully 22,” Bryant said.

The Cougars will look to con-tinue improving on last season’s fifth place C-USA finish in total defense (380.29 yards per game) and seventh place finish in rush-ing defense (171.57 yards).

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Cougars explore new defensive schemeSPECIAL TEAMS

Christopher SheltonAssistant sports editor

The most often overlooked phase of the game is special teams. Not so at UH, especially with a head coach who has been a special team’s coach at four different destinations.

Last season, the Cougars were among the nation’s best includ-ing Tyron Carrier’s three returns for scores — marking his seventh career return for a touchdown matching an NCAA record.

“Special teams is one of the most important aspects of the game. You can win or lose it there,” kicker Matt Hogan said. “I think (Levine) really knows that and puts a lot of emphasis into it and it shows on the field.”

There is turnover due to graduation on the unit and the team is still searching for replacements.

“When you talk about special teams, the big question mark, at least publicly, is who the return-ers are going to be, replacing Carrier as a kick-off returner and Patrick Edwards as a punt returner,” head coach Tony Levine said.

At kick returner, Isaiah Sweeney and Jeffery Lewis will compete for the starting job. Both have experience in that arena so it is an interesting position battle. At least initially, Lewis and Sweeney will see time at kick returner.

UH will face the task of replacing dynamic return man Patrick Edwards who signed with the Detroit Lions this summer. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Competition, experience highlight special teams fall preparations

SPECIAL TEAMS continues on page 10

Steward


2012

C-USABY ANDREW PATE ANDCHRISTOPHER SHELTON

WEST DIVISION EAST DIVISION

HOUSTON COUGARS

RICE OWLS

TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE

TULANE GREEN WAVE

UTEP MINERS

SMU MUSTANGS

EAST CAROLINA PIRATES

SOUTHERN MISS

MEMPHIS TIGERS

UCF GOLDEN KNIGHTS

MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD

Outlook: Rice has good talent at the skill positions. If RB Sam McGuffi e can stay healthy the Owls can be an exciting off ense.

Will be a contender if: Rice is a young team this season. The Owls need to improve dramatically on the defen-sive end if they want to compete.

2011 record: 4-8 (3-5 C-USA)

Head coach: David Bailiff , 6th season; 23-38 career (23-38 at Rice)

Key losses: DE Scott Solomon; QB Nick Fanuzzi

Key returnees: RB/WR Sam McGuffi e; CB Bryce Callahan; LB Cameron Nwosu

Outlook: Tulsa is replacing one of their best quarterbacks ever in G.J. Kinne. However if Nebraska transfer Cody Green plays to potential, the transition won’t be that rough.

Will be a contender if: The non-conference schedule lightens for Tulsa this season. Though their games against UH and SMU are on the road this season, a 10-win season is possible.

2011 record: 8-5 (7-1 C-USA)

Head coach: Bill Blankenship, 2nd season; 8-5 career (8-5 at Tulsa)

Key losses: QB G.J. Kinne, LB Curnelius Arnick

Key returnees: RB Ja’Terian Douglas; WR Bryan Burnham; LB Shawn Jackson

Outlook: Tulane is a building project. But with its quarterback, running back and top four pass catchers return-ing, its off ense should put up points.

Will be a contender if: Tulane has home games against Rice and UAB. Tulane’s arrow is trending upward — they can win more than one game in conference this season.

2011 record: 2-11 (1-7 C-USA)

Head coach: Curtis Johnson , 1st season; 0-0 career

Key losses: WR Jeremy Williams; RB Andre Anderson

Key returnees: QB Ryan Griffi n; RB Orleans Darkwa; DE Austen Jacks

Outlook: UTEP returns its quarterback, four of fi ve starters on the off ensive line, the top three tight ends and the top two receivers. The defense could make an improvement as well.

Will be a contender if : The Miner’s schedule will prevent them from competing for a conference title. UTEP draws the top 6 teams in the league and must face Tulsa, Houston and Southern Miss on the road.

2011 record: 5-7 (2-6 C-USA)

Head coach: Mike Price, 9th season; 128-130 career (45-52 at UTEP)

Key losses: RB Joe Banyard; LB Jeremy Springer

Key returnees: QB Nick Lamaison; LB Jamie Irving

Outlook: SMU was one of the best defenses in C-USA last season and will fi eld another talented group this season. The skill positions are intact with RB Zach Line and receiver Darius Johnson returning.

Will be a contender if: Texas transfer Garrett Gilbert will have to play more like the 5-star recruit than the bust in Austin. SMU has UH and Southern Miss at home.

2011 record: 8-5 (5-3 C-USA)

Head coach: June Jones 4th season; 100-69 career (24-28) at SMU)

Key losses: QB J.J. McDermott

Key returnees: RB Zach Line, WR Darius Johnson, LB Taylor Reed, DB Ryan Smith

Outlook: : East Carolina will be forced to replace star QB Dominique Davis and fi nd a solution to a running game that gained only 109 yards per game last season.

Will be a contender if: In 2011, the Pirates struggled to hang on to the ball fi nishing 119th in the country in turnover margin. If East Carolina can fi nd a way to move the ball off ensively and take advantage of home games against UH and Marshall, anything is possible.

2011 record: 5-7 (4-4 C-USA)

Head coach: Ruffi n McNeill, 3rd season; 12-14 career (11-14 at ECU)

Key losses: QB Dominique Davis; DB Derek Blacknall;

LB Cliff Perryman

Key returnees: WR Justin Hardy; DB Damon Magazu; LB Jeremy Grove

Outlook: The defending C-USA champs are poised for another championship run behind RB Jamal Woodyard and an off ense that led the conference in rushing last season.

Will be a contender if: If the Golden Eagle’s pass defense can generate some stops and last season’s backup QB Arensio Favor, now in the starting role can move the ball through the air, expect Southern Miss to take the East Division.

2011 record: 12-2 (6-2 C-USA)

Head coach: Ellis Johnson, 1st season; (0-0 career)Key losses: QB Austin Davis, WR Ryan Balentine, WR Kelvin Bolden

Key returnees: RB Jamal Woodyard, WR Tracy Lam-pley, DB Deron Wilson

Outlook: The Tigers have won a combined fi ve games over the past three seasons and are forced to replace fi rst-round draft pick defensive lineman Dontari Poe.

Will be a Contender if: First-year head coach Justin Fuente will not fi x the program over night and Mem-phis is expected to struggle again.

2011 record: 2-10 (1-7 C-USA)

Head coach: Justin Fuente, 1st season; (0-0 career)

Key losses: DL Dontari Poe, QB Andy Summerlin, QB Taylor Reed

Key returnees: DB/LB Akeem Davis, LB Kenyata Johnson, RB Artaves Gibson

Outlook: The Knights, who were picked as the overwhelming favorite in the C-USA East, will be ineligible this postseason due to recruitment violations involving cash payments.

Will be a contender if: Despite the sanctions, UCF will have the opportunity to serve as a major spoiler. The defense should continue its dominance in C-USA and if the off ense can avoid costly turnovers, the team should fi nish with 3-4 more wins than last season.

2011 record: 5-7 (3-5 C-USA)

Head coach: George O’Leary, 9th season; 102-84 career (50-51 at UCF)

Key losses: WR A.J. Guyton, LB Josh Linam, LB

Jonathan Davis

Key returnees: QB Jeff Godfrey, DB Kemal Ishmael, RB Brynn Harvey

Outlook: Head coach Doc Holliday appears to have the program heading in the right direction following up its 6-6 regular season with a bowl victory over Florida International.

Will be a contender if: Coming off a season where the Thundering Herd fi nished 96th in the nation in total off ense, they will be relying on QB Rakeem Cato to have a much improved sophomore season.

2011 record: 7-6 (5-3 C-USA)

Head coach: Doc Holliday, 3rd season; 12-13 career (12-13 at Marshall)

Key losses: DL Vinny Curry, LB George Carpenter, S

Omar Brown

Key returnees: QB Rakeem Cato, RB Tron Martinez, WR Aaron Dobson

Outlook: First-year head coach Garrick McGee has brought a sense of excitement to a UAB program that has not had a winning season since 2004. Unfortunately, with a defense among the country’s worst only return-ing just four starters, the Blazers are likely in line for another disappointing season.

Will be a contender if: UAB will rely on its off ense and returning QB Jonathan Perry to provide some stabil-ity – last season Perry fi nished the season with 10 TD’s and 8 INT’s. For an overall young team, this will be a rebuilding year for McGee’s Blazers.

2011 record: 3-9 (3-5 C-USA)

Head coach: Garrick McGee, 1st season; (0-0 career)Key losses: Four starting members of OL

Key returnees: QB Jonathan Perry, LB Marvin Burdette

Outlook: Though 13-1 is probably unlikely, the Cougars still have plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. With plenty of starters returning, the defense should be much improved.

Will be a contender if: If David Piland has a good season at quarterback, the Cougars will compete for the C-USA crown. Besides UCLA in Pasadena and SMU in Dallas, all other tough tests are at home.

2011 record: 13-1 (8-0 C-USA)

Head coach: Tony Levine; 1st season; 1-0 career (1-0 at UH)

Key losses: QB Case Keenum; WRs Patrick

Edwards, Tyron Carrier Key returnees: RB Charles Sims; CB D.J. Hayden; LB Phillip Steward

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11 players. 100 yards. 140 characters at a time.


Harrison Lee Staff writer

Oddly enough, the first time Caitlin Ogletree ever visited the University of Houston, she cried.

“My mom literally dragged me here on my official visit. It was the only week I didn’t have volleyball,” Ogletree laughed at the memory.

From a rather bleak and dreary beginning, she quickly warmed up to the idea of being a Cougar.

“I fell in love with UH Athletics and how they were part of a grow-ing program,” Ogletree said. “Now that I am here and I’m getting experience, with academics and athletics, it’s a privilege to be a part of that.”

As if falling in love with the school wasn’t good enough, Ogle-tree has become a key member of the squad, with head coach Kaddie Platt going as far to praise her as a natural born leader.

“Her greatest gift is she makes the players around her better,” Platt said. “It doesn’t matter who she’s playing with; her teams always win because she’s a winner.”

“She’s absolutely amazing,” said senior Stephanie Nwachukwu. “I love Caitlin; she’s always on fire. She loves volleyball so she makes you want to work so hard just for her and the team. She always pushes me to be better.”

Her gung-ho attitude has

helped her advance in competitive volleyball.

“There’s a huge difference between club play and high school play than coming into Division One,” Ogletree said. “I’ve never realized how much I could push myself.”

Along with the freshmen, the University has recruited some coaches as well.

“The new coaches are awe-some,” Ogletree said. “I feel like they bring a completely different mindset to the game. We’ve learned so many new things.”

She’s just as quick to praise her teammates.

“Everyone is becoming a more versatile player. In practice, every-one is almost working on every position. That’s been great for us.”

After being named fifth in a pre-season C-USA poll, a lot of pressure rests on Ogletree and her teammates.

“That made some of us a little mad,” Ogletree said. “A conference title is a huge goal for us. Definitely a conference title and definitely making it to a tournament have been goals for us, especially for the returning players. You gotta do what you gotta do.”

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Kayla, Aja Walker compel one another to succeed on, off the field

Sisters make good pair Mónica RojasStaff writer

Aja Walker celebrated from afar last season when her sister Kayla scored her first goal as a Cougar on Oct. 7 against UTEP. Sunday, she celebrated

her sister’s game-win-ning goal against HBU, only this time from the bench.

“We were on the same team in high school and

play together very well because we work with each other on and off the field,” Kayla said. “She plays midfield and I usually play up top. She gets me in, and we know what (the other is) going to do.”

Having played together since

their mother placed them in the Fun Fair Positive Soccer League at a young age, the sisters have had a lot of practice together.

“I got to play with her (before) so we know each other,” Aja said. “We (don’t) have to learn how to work with each other because we already know.”

Only 18 months apart and teammates for the majority of their lives, the Walker sisters are close, so much so that they even share a dorm.

“We are pretty much the same person,” Aja said. “We do differ a lot on the field because I play midfield. I like to find passes and she likes to get the ball more and run and score. So we do differ there. Other than that, we are pretty much the same.”

However, knowing each other so well has its disadvantages.

“Sometimes if one of us makes a mistake or something, because we know each other so well, we

will yell at each other,” Aja said. “Usually if someone else messes up we will be like, ‘Oh, good try,’ but because we’re sisters, we’ll be like, ‘Come on, you can do that better.’”

Despite being on the same team, the sisters have not been able to play a game together as Aja suffered a leg injury two months ago.

“It’s been hard having her sit on the bench,” the sisters’ mother Margaret Walker said. “I know her sister was crushed when it happened. She cried. I’m hoping maybe she’ll be able to play at the end (of the season) but we’ll see how the therapy goes.”

For now Aja cheers from the bench and Kayla takes care of her.

“I can’t wait to play with her again once her leg heals,” Kayla said.

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Soccer

Ogletree takes on leadership role Volleyball

The sophomore from Montgomery appeared in 29 matches and led UH in assists (1,215) as the Cougars starting setter. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

Kayla Walker


Channler Hill Staff writer

Still, even without a head coach designated and cross-country prac-tice for men and women beginning Aug. 24, runners seem to be on the positive side.

“(I) keep working hard and doing a lot of mileage, getting ready

for the season, the same from last year but this time, a little better. I know how my last season was, so this time I have a better experi-ence,” said men’s cross country runner Yonas Tesfai. “I think it’s better to keep the same coach, but since he can’t be here, we’re going to see how the new coach works.

But we’re looking forward for a good coach.”

Refl ection has also been taking place before the upcoming season; with the Cougars fi rst meet Aug. 31 at Houston Baptist, following the Rice Invitational Sept. 14. The Cougars will need to stay focused and correct incidents that took

place last season.“The whole team had a problem

with injuries (last season). We’ve got to stay healthy. This is going to be a young team, said Tesfai. “All the seniors left, so we’re just going to be sophomores and juniors. So we’re going to have to take respon-sibility and step up and try to do

good (this season).”Anderson-Kaapa hopes to con-

tinue on towards a record breaking path, which is among his reasons for potentially having a great sea-son and why fans should come out and support.

CROSS COUNTRY

UH must replace coach, continue standard

Christopher Shelton Assistant sports editor

UH is joining one of two pre-eminent basketball conferences in the nation for the 2013-2014 sea-son, when it enters the Big East. If continued success is the goal, the Cougars need to take another step in recruiting.

Without a trophy case to match championship programs like Georgetown, Syracuse and Con-necticut, UH has to balance the scales with other factors.

Women’s basketball head coach Todd Buchanan said he wants to offer a unique environ-ment that prospective recruits and their family would like to be a part of.

“I don’t make a lot of prom-ises,” Buchanan said. “My promise to them as parents is that I’m going to take care of their daugh-ter just like I’m going to take care of that guy right there,” Buchanan said, pointing to a photo of his 3-year-old son, Colton.

Family sells. It is often an

underestimated aspect of sports. Viewing your team as your family glues a team together through hard times. Camaraderie and chemistry are built through time and trust.

The Big East sells too, and it will allow UH to broaden its recruiting base.

“We go in and we look for more physical kids — the athleticism changes,” said Ravon Justice, recruiting coordinator. “Kids are excited. They feel like if they’re the best, they want to play against the best.”

For men’s basketball coach James Dickey, the goal is to recruit talent from Houston and surrounding areas. If players can compete on the highest stage at a viable basketball program near home, they may be more inclined to attend UH.

Freshmen Danuel House and Danrad Knowles are prime examples of what UH can expect — highly touted recruits who turned down other offers in order to play for the Cougars.

“Looking from abroad, I always thought (the University of Houston) had a chance to make major damage if two things could happen,” said Associate Coach Alvin Brooks. “One, if they could get into a much more competitive league where they can get national exposure, and that’s happened with the Big East. And another thing is if they could upgrade the facilities. That’s in the works — Mack Rhodes has already put together a plan.”

In men’s basketball, greater talent usually equals greater turn-over of players. UH isn’t scared of one-and-done players, though.

“We want to recruit the best players, obviously those guys, more than likely have a chance to play beyond college,” said Ronnie Hamilton, assistant coach. “If a guy can stay here one year, two years or three years and it helps him and helps the program, more than likely, it means we’re having success. We welcome that.”

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RUN continues on page 10

Men’s BasketballSigning Danuel House and Danrad Knowles made a splash and pushed the squad into the top 25 of most respect-able organizations. Also in the class are Valentine Izundu, Brandon Morris and Tione Womack.Women’s BasketballUH added six recruits, two Juco transfers and an international prospect, including four-star recruit Jessieka Palmer, twins Tyler and Taylor Gilbert, Alecia Smith, Bianca Winslow and Marche Amerson. Yasmeen Thompson and Te’onna Campbell transferred from junior college and Sera Ozelci joins UH from Ankara, Turkey.

MAKING THE GRADE

Big East presents challenge, opportunity BASKETBALL

Men’s basketball head coach James Dickey is utilizing the abundance of talent in Houston area when it comes to recruit-ing. This year, the Cougars class fi nished 21st in the nation by ESPN. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

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“The tides are turning as far as distance running. There are a lot of records being made and Americans are starting to be able to break into those levels where only Kenyans, Ethiopians, and a lot of foreigners could only run, and now we’re getting Americans up there,” he said.

“This a time where you can see the strength of the human body and mental discipline and see athletes from the states who have conventional lifestyles, unlike

people from other countries, actu-ally doing what those other people can do.”

The men’s and women’s cross country season will continue when both teams travel to Austin on Sept. 28 to compete at the Rouge Grass Routes Running Festival, fol-lowed by a trip to Fayetteville, Ark. on Oct. 13 to compete in the Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival.

Later, UH will head to the C-USA Championships, on Oct. 29, hosted by Southern Miss in Hat-tiesburg, Miss.

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Runcontinued from page 9

Back receiving punts will be a combination of Damian Paine and Dewayne Peace. Payne returned a punt 76 yards for a score in 2011 against Tulane. If he can show that kind of explosiveness it will help minimize the loss of Edwards.

Charles Sims is also a wild card to return punts. He took reps as a

punt returner during spring prac-tice. The skill set for running back and punt returner is different but elusiveness, speed and burst trans-late. Keep your eye out for Sims.

One of the most important advantages that you can gain from special teams is field position. Here is where UH’s punter, Richie Leone is a huge weapon. The junior averaged 41.1 yards per kick with 15 punts caught or downed inside the 20 yard line last season.

Leone said he can be one of the best punters in college football.

“As many times as our offense will get me to punt I’m gonna go out there and do the best that I can do,” Leone said.

“Playing here with the high-powered offense that we have, I’m not gonna get a lot of chances, I don’t think, but when I do I’m gonna make the most of them,” Leone said.

Hogan etched his name in Cougar lore with a 51 yard field goal that defeated Tulsa in 2009 as time expired. He’s backed it up with solid contribution as a sophomore and a junior. Hogan is back for a senior campaign after connecting on 13-17 attempts last season. The kicking game may be a bigger fac-tor if the offense takes a step back this season.

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Special teamscontinued from page 6

Matt Hogan’s right leg could factor heavily into UH’s success on special teams this season. | File photo/The Daily Cougar

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