The Cougars have felt sophomore forward Danuel House’s absence on offense and on the boards. | Caitlin Hilton/The Daily Cougar
Since sophomore guard Danuel House underwent arthroscopic knee surgery this month, the adjustment period for the Cougars hasn’t been as smooth as the team expected on both ends of the court.
House, who is out indefinitely, is a big loss for the Cougars — he is UH’s second leading scorer and rebounder with 5.7 boards per game.
With an even record in games without House, head coach James Dickey said the Cougars still have more work to do.
“There is an adjustment period, and we need a lot of guys helping us, but the short answer is not very well, considering the games that we lost,” said head coach James Dickey.
Without House, UH contemplated where those rebounds and points were going to come from, Dickey said. House provided good length defensively and on the glass for a guard, and other players now have an obligation to score more with him out.
Junior forward TaShawn Thomas said dispersing the offensive burden has been a hard process for the team, but it has been getting easier to adjust to with time.
“We’re missing some offense, but I feel like a lot of other players are stepping up and helping out, to where it’s not as bad when House is missing,” Thomas said.
House has begun the rehabilitation process with the team’s medical personnel and is expected to be back this season, but a timetable for his return is not yet known.
“You miss a guy who’s as talented as Danuel and can go make some plays with his athleticism. He’s terrific in transition and is a very good rebounder,” Dickey said.
UH doesn’t want to rely on offense, but Dickey wants the team’s mentality to start on the defensive end, and the offense will create itself. The Cougars’ defense and rebounding philosophy is now being stressed now more than ever. Defenses are going to have some breakdowns, but the more the Cougars can cut down on those mistakes, the more it’s going to make their defense better, Thomas said.
“We believe in playing the game inside out and sharing the ball. I think our guys did a better job in the past few days in understanding how we’re going to play and how we need to play,” Dickey said.
New Starters:
Point guard: Tione Womack
Shooting guard: L.J. Rose
Small forward: LeRon Barnes
Power forward: TaShawn Thomas
Center: J.J. Richardson
