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McCallum's Coogs

The Houston Cougars scored an unlikely upset in the Conference USA men's basketball tourney today over Memphis to take their record to 18-13, even more impressive after some recent negative events.

18 wins may be enough to get Houston in the NIT, which would be the first postseason in many years, and a sign that Ray McCallum has finally reversed the decline that began after Guy V. Lewis retired so many years ago. That reversal has its down side, since McCallum is likely to become a hot prospect for other teams. Houston's new athletic director would be wise to reward McCallum with a new compensation package that makes it harder for him to leave, because McCallum is a smart young coach who seems to run a classy program.

And who knows -- McCallum may be smart enough to see that Houston may have more to offer than some suitors who will come calling. The tradition has faded, but there are still memories of Guy V. Lewis's Phi Slama Jama teams, Houston is a fertile basketball recruiting ground in a state that values football much more highly than basketball, UH can compete with the other basketball powers in the state (Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech) and the combination of this city and coach are at least as appealing as Austin/Barnes and moreso than Waco/Bliss and Lubbock/Knight, and Conference-USA is a major conference in basketball if nothing else.

The NIT would be a good step for UH, and I hope they get in. Of course, it would be fun to sail through the C-USA tourney and make the big dance, but the next opponent (#13 Marquette) makes that unlikely.

[Posted at 20:24 CST on 03/07/02] [Link]

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