HOUSTON BAPTIST
Coach: Ron Cottrell (487-407 in 28 seasons at HBU).
Last season: 12-18, 8-10; tied for seventh in Southland Conference. Outlook: All-Southland Conference guard Ian DuBose is the team’s most reliable player. A starter since his freshman season, the versatile junior scores, rebounds and is a defensive stopper. But the player that will be running the offense is 6-2 freshman point guard Myles Pierre, who scored more than a 1,000 points while playing on back-toback high school state championship teams. The Huskies, who had a 93-91 overtime win at Wake Forest to highlight last season’s non-conference schedule, return a number of role players that will need to step up to make a run in the SLC. That includes Ty Dalton, Jalon Gates, Qon Murphy, Philip McKenzie and Jackson Stent. Settling in at the post is 6-10 junior Ryan Gomes, who sat out last season after transferring from Mount Saint Mary’s. Dalton, 6-4, started the final 13 games at small forward, averaging eight points. Gates, 6-0, came off the bench to average 8.8 points. At 6-8, Stent adds front-court depth.
Player to watch: DuBose, who lost 15 pounds over the offseason, averaged a team-best 17 points, adding 5.9 rebounds per game with 103 assists. “He can handle the ball against pressure, he can get to the rim and finish. He can shoot from the perimeter,” Cottrell said. Key games: Nov. 26 at Houston; Dec. 18 at Stephen F. Austin; Jan. 18 vs. Sam Houston State; Feb. 19 vs. Abilene Christian; Feb. 22 at Sam Houston State.