Basketball Articles
Freeballin’ with Tom Penders
Posted by Hank Dudek on August 12th, 2009 under Basketball
In 1988 Texas brought Tom Penders in to turn around a lifeless program whose appeal was non-existent. Texas had the personality and image of a football school and the basketball program under Bob Weltlich was as exciting to watch as a bass fishing tournament, no offense to fishermen on this one.
Enter Penders fresh off his Rhode Island run through the NCAA tournament. Here was a coach with a little Northeastern swagger that might allow Texas to bring in some quality recruits. He was well dressed, had a good personality, great curly locks and a Coppertone tan-what’s not to like.
The 1990 team that eventually was a 3 pointer away from a Final 4 against Arkansas had all played for overbearing coaches who demanded you follow every rule to the tee or forever pay the price. Travis Mays, Courtney Jeans, Andrew Fowler, Winn Shephard and Mark Hall had all played for Bob Weltlich, Penders’ predecessor, and had the scars to prove it. Lance Blanks played for Terry Holland at Virginia and Joey Wright played at Drake.
The one thing that bound us together was that we had all been taught well by other coaches and now we were being allowed the freedom to use those fundamentals. To sum it up, we were freeballin’ and loving it. Penders allowed guys the freedom that most coaches could or would not and he got away with it- for a while.
As with Rhode Island, George Washington and now Houston, Penders got off to a quick start in his turnaround. His style is appealing to good athletes who can run the court and guys who do not like to be told, “work the ball around.” The state of Texas did not have a shortage of quality athletes. Most of the great players went out of state to become basketball players since Texas basketball lagged when it came to the actual teaching of the game (ie, Shaq, Larry Johnson (who did originally commit to Dave Bliss at SMU), Labradford Smith, et al.).
When I transferred from Richmond, we had a playbook that was as thick as the current IRS Tax Code. We switched defenses so often that our opponents often turned the ball over just trying to figure out what the hell we were doing. I was leaving a system that was notorious for upsetting Goliaths like Indiana, Georgia Tech and Syracuse in and coming to a program that had huge resources but had never truly reached its full potential.
As practice began in the winter of 89’ I realized there was not a whole lot of thinking involved with my new team. This is not to say we did not have plenty of thinkers on our team-much the contrary. Penders’ coaching staff had narrowed it down to press, get the ball, and score. Repeat. If necessary fall back, force them into a bad shot and run. So, when they say roll the balls out and play that was what we did. How else do you overcome an 18 point halftime deficit in the Sweet Sixteen to a Xavier powerhouse with 3 NBA players (Tyrone Hill, Derek Strong, Jayson Williams) and win by double figures? Simple, “Play, don’t think.” Let the other team worry.
Ultimately, you have to know how to coach players to have continued success and while Penders is great at turning a program around it is only a matter of time before his style rears its ugly head in undisciplined, selfish basketball teams that self-destruct. Case in point, the knucklehead from Houston, Penders’ new coaching job, who stepped on Chase Buddinger (Arizona) last year after Buddinger took a charge. Any coach with some credibility would have suspended this kid for a game and made him apologize for being a punk. Instead, Penders offers some lame excuse backing his player and continues to breed a style that will never have long-term success at a major university.
Excuse me.
Looking back on Penders’ tenure at Texas it is hard to find a player he recruited that made it in the NBA. I am not counting Mays and Blanks as he did not coach them for four years. The first player I can think of is Albert Burditt, the leading shot blocker in Texas history. This kid came in at 6’8,” 225 pounds and could touch over 12 feet 3 inches on his vertical leap test. He was a freakish athlete who with the right coaching would have made a great power forward in the NBA. Instead of spending practice developing his inside game we ran some hybrid triangle offense that looked more like something conceived at the 5th grade level. We had zero set plays to get the ball to the right guys in the right position. You can add names like Watson, Tyler, Rencher, Axtell, and I am sure I am missing a few here that will come up.
The bottom line is that few players show up and get better under Penders and at the end of the day is that not how we measure coaching and teaching? While I enjoyed the opportunity to play for Tom Penders, however brief it was, I also recognize and appreciate the true coaching I received from Dick Tarrant while I was at Richmond.
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ghostofagroundgame commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 24 minutes ago
I just took Baylor going to the Elite 8. It’s a crazy mixed up world we live in.
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By “we” I meant the Horns. Kevin, why should I take Siena over A&M?
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 41 minutes ago
colorado ag, Utah State is as athletic as Nebraska. You’ll be fine as long as they don’t go 16 for 31 from three.
Siena, on the other hand, is going to beat you like you stole something. Maybe not, but the Saints should win.
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Kevin Berger commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 1 hour, 44 minutes ago
Great article Scipio. Also, thanks for the dime.
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Art Vandelay commented on the blog post Final Four Prediction 1 hour, 49 minutes ago
My brackets are pretty much locked down except the South. Can’t get myself to take Baylor, and Duke doesn’t feel right. Nobody seems to be high on Nova. It’s all about the Big East and Big 12 this year.
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Scip, like a peaceful Indian in the 1800’s, I never trust a Mormon that can shoot. Utah State has me worried.
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 30 minutes ago
CJD -
Possibly. However, I’m telling you – the beauty of these intergame lines is that when you see that all-too-familiar big early game lead that you know will evaporate down the stretch as soon as the team starts regressing to their 3 point shooting mean, there’s some money to be made.
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Scipio Tex commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
uthookem-
I’d say you have your priorities straight.
colorado -
Anytime. How far do you think the Aggies go? A lot of people think Utah State is the most dangerous pure shooting team in the tournament.
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uthookem commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 42 minutes ago
Last year in Vegas, Friday morning, stumble to the line at 8:30 to make my bets, put $20 on a four-team parlay on the four 9:00 am games, nailed it! Three of the four games’ spread was determined in the final 0:30. Walked away with $220.
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Jordan, all just wild, premature conjecture. I’d hedge that only a third of that 2013 list ever makes an NFL roster. It is picking which third that is the tough part.
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James commented on the blog post Bracket Breakdown & Gambling Tips 2 hours, 46 minutes ago
Very interesting piece. These games can’t start soon enough. Thanks, Scip.
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I have:
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Arinze Onuaku’s injury has forced me to turn this year’s bracket prediction into a “Multiple Endings” story. Don’t get me wrong, we’re not hyper-geeks playing Dungeons and Dragons here. We may be wasting billions of dollars in worker productivity, but we’re not killing Orcs with plus 10 vorpal swords of magic.
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Awesome write up.
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Same source or just similar facts: http://fantake.com/forums/topic.php?id=876#post-5197
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“in the history of baylor basketball this has never been in discussion”
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Scipio Tex said:
August 12th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Fantastic read. I really enjoyed it. I think you nailed it. Those teams were enormously entertaining and a great relief at a time when our football was inconsistent and weak and they helped to make me into a passionate basketball fan.
Clearly, parting ways with Penders was a good thing. I had a friend who was buddies with Brandy Perryman who told me about listening to Penders’ drunken answering machine messages and they were hilarious, but fairly dispiriting I’m sure to a 19 year old.
How does Rick Barnes get this current collection of talent to Play Not Think while still maintaining court discipline and a commitment to defense? I think we as fans are underestimating how hard that is to do.
Dean Smith coached a lot of incredible UNC teams over a lot of years – but he didn’t hang all that many banners. I’m not sure there’s a harder accomplishment than winning a national championship in college basketball.
Scipio Tex said:
August 12th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Oh – and by the way, your old teammate (our 6-4 power forward) Winn Sheppard has a son who looks to be an elite 2012 prospect at SF.
He shoots free throws like his Dad, apparently.
Fat and Stupid said:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Scip…I agree with your last paragraph. I have a buddy who went to UNC undergrad and along with Penders, etc he’s helped me REALLY understand college hoops. Funny, but in order of what is the most difficult I’d say hoops and baseball are tougher than football and there’s really no question in my mind.
Tommy Penders' Chest Hair said:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:27 am
I was more impressive than my dad’s flowing locks, if we’re being honest about things.
Hank Dudek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Scipio,
Yes, Penders often came to practice red-faced, kinda like the monsignor at my old church lol. Fortunately, he did not leave me any messages. Maybe I could of used it to get more playing time:)
Barnes does a nice job balancing the fundamentals but still allowing guys to grow as players. I think he truly wants guys to get better and they do. The problem Barnes has is that right when these teams gel they lose guys early to the pros (ie Ford, Mihm, Augustine, Durant) Maybe this will be the year.
Glad to hear Winn’s son is a good player. I won’t bash him on free throw shooting. I was 50% with one eye so if I extrapolate then technically I would have led the NCAA with 2 good eyes.
srr50 said:
August 12th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
I worked for both Weltlich and Penders, and Hank is dead on. Weltlich did a great job of identifying good basketball players who also happened to be (generally speaking) good kids.
He just was constitutionally unable to treat them as human beings.
When Penders showed up he must have thought he had been dropped into a vat of Jack Daniels. The talent on hand was top 25 level at that time. Penders understood that they were like whipped dogs who had been chained to the back fence for six months.
Penders simply treated them as college athletes with value and they quickly were won over. Yes, Hank is again right on with the fact that Penders wasn’t very good at instilling discipline, and frankly wasn’t very interested in recruiting from the hands-on standpoint.
During those early years he had a pretty good handle on his team on game day as well. That first year Texas made the NCAA’s and drew Bobby Cremins and Georgia Tech up in Dallas. Penders was convinced that Texas would beat Tech, and his reasoning was interesting.
Penders contended that Cremins was a great recruiter because he really identified with his kids, won them and their parents over with his full commitment to them.
Penders said that Cremins was also notorious for getting very, very nervous before games. Penders believed that Cremins teams took on his personality gameday and in the biggies they showed up tight, and played that way.
“That’s why I stay away from my team on gameday,” said Penders,” if I’m nervous I don’t want them to see it.”
Georgia Tech came out tight, Texas was loose and Penders had his first NCAA win at Texas.
He understood the basics of coaching during a game. Texas is leading Houston by 2 down in Houston with less than 30 seconds to go. The Cougs have the ball and call timeout. Penders tells his team that if Houston scores to tie, just push the ball as quickly as they could up the court so they couldn’t get a set defense.
Houston tied the game, Texas pushed up court, Joey Wright got a look at a 15 footer, missed it, but was able to get his own rebound and put it back in because Houston was still unsettled.
He knew how to push players buttons as well. Again, playing OU up in Norman. Billy Tubbs had his usual band of players (and thugs). It was a TV game and OU jumped all over Texas.
All the players had that “Deer in the Headlights,” look. Mays got a cut lip, a couple of other players got shoved and they generally looked like the kid on the playground who had his lunch money stolen by the class bully.
Penders called timout, and spent the whole time ripping a new asshole for Mays. He called him everything in the book and said if he thought he could play in the NBA while being this gutless he was mistaken. Travis took it, and it seemed that everybody else figured that if he was ripping the best player on the team, then maybe they should look at themselves as well.
Texas came back, made it an even fight, and eventually lost in overtime.
Penders just got lazy, and sloppy, and if he had stayed any longer we probably would have ended up on some kind of NCAA probation.
It has occurred to me that if Penders had Weltlich as his recruiting coordinator and top assistant he could have been here a long time.
Seriously
Nordberg said:
August 12th, 2009 at 12:04 pm
I’m confused.
Hank Dudek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Campagglio, while an arrogant douche bag, was the X’s and O’s guy. Weltlich would have assassinated Penders. He was an undisciplined soldier lol. When Campagglio left (with our meal money) Penders did not replace him with a game plan guy.
Louis said:
August 12th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
I was too young to understand (or maybe I just didn’t care yet) Texas basketball under Penders. I was wondering if yall remember Reggie Freeman though. He is the only UT bball player I remember before TJ. (My dad took me to, IIRC, the last SWC Championship against Tech at Reunion and I only remember his sweet lefty stroke) Was he actually any good or just a chunker?
HenryJames said:
August 12th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
He was a good chunker.
Hubris said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I made Tommy become Tom, just like I made Freddie become Fred, and I helped Coach Gus begin working his summer camp scam with his son…I used to know a lot of the Texas coaches, but things aren’t so cozy now (nearly made Augie become August last year though)…sigh…
Hank Dudek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Reggie was a good guy and a good player. He was another guy that, with the right coaching, could have a career overseas.
srr50 said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
Benford Williams.
I saw the dude cut his head on a backboard at SMU coming down from a dunk.
Another dipshit poster said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Reggie is in Austin working on his degree and playing in pick-up games with the team. Since school he’s discovered the joy that a high calorie diet brings. His first step might have suffered a wee bit as a result.
SizzleChest said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
When I saw the title of this article, I thought about two hairy, wrinkled eggs in a nest and then puked up the biryani I had for dinner.
Hank Dudek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:30 pm
Yeah, I should have mentioned the graduation rate under Penders but did not have the stats. I know most of the guys I played with graduated but after that I am sure the numbers went down.
springbranchhorn said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
I am still pissed that in my time at UT I had to watch Bob Weltlich’s offense and Fred Akers offense.
Nacho said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
My only memories of Rencher, and later Freeman to an even greater extent, is him essentially handling the ball at just past mid-court until 10 seconds remained on the shot clock and then driving the basket. Over and over and over and over.
Bartoncreek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
and Mackovic’s defense.
Gary Darnell said:
August 12th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
What was wrong with Mackovic’s defense?
Rashaan Salaam said:
August 12th, 2009 at 2:11 pm
Nothing.
Ben said:
August 12th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Hank, great read. Burning question–any good George Muller stories?
The General said:
August 12th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
Hank,
That was really, really good. Outstanding funking content.
Regards,
TG
Parlin Hall said:
August 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Hank–thanks for this write-up. Can I ask a question? You contrasted the coaching you got from Dick Tarrant to what Penders offered. Could you offer an example of what this would have looked like to a player as it unfolded? That is, would Penders just let drills go rather than stepping in and teaching? Was it what got said before and after practice? Was it a matter of the coach’s own knowledge of the game? I’d be interested to know how what the teaching actually looked like–how one coach taught where the other failed. Thanks again: it was a very good read.
Trips Right said:
August 12th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
Great post Hank. That seems to sum up why Penders could never get an elite back to the basket player. Why go to Texas when gunslinging guards had the rule of the roost?
Hank Dudek said:
August 12th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
As I mentioned in the article, we had a huge playbook for offense and defense at Richmond. We understood proper positioning on offense and defense through grueling repetition and scrimmaging.
Guys improved their individual games by being put on the spot in practice over and over again. Richmond did not have the most talented guys but they were never out-coached. Dick Tarrant was no saint but he did get the most out of the players who stayed with him.
Penders typical practice was dribble the ball around the court 3 times, 3 man weaves, 3 on 2’s, work some shooting drills and jump stops (he liked the jump stop) Maybe run the press with some scrimmage, free throws, full court scrimmage again, finish with sprints and hit the showers. It was a rare occasion if he stopped practice and it was never a tactical correction, more like “you need to get there” or “can you see Shaq out of those goggles” lol.
absolut said:
August 12th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
Still wonder what Eddie Orran is holding in his safe deposit box. Played golf with Jamie a few times at Barton Creek, and will never be convinced he was anything but a another fall guy for Tom. As far as Penders goes, ever time I see him on T.V. these days I think of Mary’s well-tanned, dog-owning neighbor in “There’s Something About….”
Pancho Claus said:
August 12th, 2009 at 7:59 pm
Panama Myers… played very well against the Dream Team in the Olympics.
Luke Axtell… was there ever a more disappointing player at UT? Not pointing any fingers, but that dude was the white Sweet Pea.
Black Scholes said:
August 12th, 2009 at 10:57 pm
Great comments, two quick thoughts:
First, kind of directed to Hank’s comment on this topic, but one of – if not the – key reason (in addition to cultural issues) that basketball development lagged in Texas was because of the then-UIL rule that Texas high schoolers could not go to summer camps or participate in the like (leagues etc). I had to sneak off to Maryland and Virginia my sophomore and junior years, knowing that if I was found out I would lose eligibility.
Also, to echo Hank’s other comment I think few people really understand, when Campaglio was caught with the meal money in his freezer there went Pender’s most trusted lieutenant (as well as a promising career). Campaglio was the guy who kept Penders somewhat grounded, as well as providing the only semblance of x’s and o’s on the staff. Tom never really replaced him and I think the results played out accordingly. I’ve always felt the Penders era would have looked much different if Campaglio had been able to stay the course.
My only real regret about my time at UT was the general indifference to college basketball. Abe Lemons and his motley crew were the lone bright spot, but the Heart of Texas Coliseum proved that program wasn’t strong enough to overcome adversity. It is impossible for me to truly convey the futility of the Weltlich era. I think Bob discovered – way too late – that only perennial winners can get away with being a jackass to every single person they meet.
jinx said:
August 13th, 2009 at 5:23 am
The player that developed the least with the most potential was Chris Clack. That dude was the best basketball player Texas had ever seen at the time. We wasted his skills entirely.
BatesHorn said:
August 13th, 2009 at 5:24 am
Hank- Outstanding stuff. Well done.
Comments also are awesome. First class blogging here.
Nordberg said:
August 13th, 2009 at 5:57 am
“can you see Shaq out of those goggles?”
This was my favorite part.
JUICE said:
August 13th, 2009 at 7:17 am
“My only memories of Rencher, and later Freeman to an even greater extent, is him essentially handling the ball at just past mid-court until 10 seconds remained on the shot clock and then driving the basket. Over and over and over and over.”
Add Mays and B.J. Tyler. Unfortunately, Barnes’ end-of-half and end-of-game offense is exactly the same.
Benford Williams had one of the greatest UIL State Tourney performances I have ever seen. Penders used to say that it unfairly biased people into thinking Benford could shoot!
Tearaway20 said:
August 13th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Great stuff, Hank — appreciate the write-up. And the candor. Would be curious to hear your thoughts on Barnes’ offensive scheme. He’s taken a lot of flack in some corners over the last few years for having no real set offense. Any insight?
Hank Dudek said:
August 13th, 2009 at 10:08 am
I think the best thing about Barnes offense is that he demands guys take good shots in the rhythm of the offense. Very rarely do you see a guy jacking up 3 off the dribble with a hand in his face. He also uses the bigs to free up the shooters nicely whether it is off the baseline or on the wings. Bottom line is the guys play as a unit and that comes from good coaching.
Last year was tough to watch as the offense looked bad because Abrams was the only shooter. I am excited to see how these new guys can shoot it this year.
Hank Dudek said:
August 13th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
Black Scholes. Great point on the camps and summer leagues. I was lucky enough that they had just overturned this rule, I believe. The summer leagues were definitely helpful in improving over the summer and being able to go to Five Star was a great way to get a scholarship, especially from schools in the Northeast.
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March 12th, 2010 at 10:24 am
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