Huskies show hunger to scrap 4-25 season
In some regards, last season’s 4-25 record may be one that is best to forget for Houston Baptist. Or it could be used as motivation.
A major reason for the Huskies’ slide, which included a 4-16 record in the Southland Conference, was their defense. The Huskies allowed an average of 93.9 points per game, last among all 350 NCAA Division I teams.
“As bad as everything ended last year, there is a hunger to get better, individually and as a team,” Huskies coach Ron Cotrell said. “They are excited about proving that they can compete and win in this league and even compete at the upper half of this league.
“I feel better about our focus, our intensity, the way guys are going about playing defense. We had to improve in that area, and we still have a team that can really score the ball.”
A year ago, the Huskies averaged 80.1 points, 11thbest in the nation.
Forward Philip McKenzie, post Ryan Gomes and wing Ty Dalton are the mainstays of a team that will still run the court and try to score in transition. Pushing the tempo will be returning point guard Myles Pierre, who started 14 games last season as a freshman, and is battling freshman Jade Tse in running the offense.
Guard Hunter Janacek redshirted in 2019-20 and Jason Thompson, a 6-7 sophomore forward, was limited to four games. These two players need to remain healthy to help the Huskies’ cause. An outstanding spotup shooter, Janacek has improved his defensive game.
Thompson is the most athletic player on the squad.
McKenzie is a four-year player and a rebounding machine. A solid contributor and swing man, Dalton will be expected to score more. A true center at 6-10, 250 pounds, Gomes is mobile and good at ball screens. Adding depth in the post, 6-9 Zach Iyeyemi made strides in getting in basketball shape during the offseason.
Of the six newcomers — three freshmen, three junior college transfers — five are multi-positional, which gives the Huskies the ability to play small when needed.
Of the first-year players, Blinn College transfer Pedro
Castro will see extensive action. At 6-6, Castro can play a variety of positions at guard or on the wing, and averaged 10.8 points and 6.8 rebounds on the junior college level. A 6-6 wing, Darius Lee averaged 18.1 points and 9.1 rebounds for SUNY Sullivan a year ago.
“We’ve got more pieces, more versatile players, than we’ve had in recent years,” Cottrell said. “Guys who can play up and down the lineup.”
Cottrell says the Huskies should show improvement over last year’s record, despite the transfer to Wake Forest of Ian DuBose, who statistically was the team’s best player.