UH men’s basketball head coach Tom Penders usually refrains from reflecting on personal achievements because he believes that doing so could pose a distraction to his team.
But after Penders claimed his 600th career win with Saturday’s 84-81 triumph over Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., he took pride in looking back on a journey that has spanned 34 seasons and seven schools.
"I am very humbled to have won 600 games in my career," said Penders, who is 73-43 in three-plus seasons at UH. "I could not have picked a better place to win it than at the University of Houston. I have had a lot of stops in my career, but I am really proud to be associated with this university because of what it stands for. It is one of the most diverse universities in the nation, and that is something that I have always believed in."
Penders, whose career record is 600-404, became the 30th NCAA Division I coach to reach 600 wins and the eighth active coach to hold that honor. He joined an exclusive club that includes 17 members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"He’s a great coach," UH senior forward Dion Dowell said. "His record speaks for itself."
Saturday’s win gave Penders his second career milestone in the last three weeks. He coached his 1,000th game in the Cougars’ 77-72 victory over Texas-El Paso on Jan. 19.
It has indeed been a long ride for Penders, who took his first college head-coaching job with Tufts University in 1971 after spending three years as a high school head coach. He compiled a 54-18 record in three years at Tufts before moving to Columbia (four years, 43-60) and then to Fordham (eight years, 125-114).
Rhode Island hired him in 1986, and led the Rams to back-to-back 20-win seasons. After two seasons, Penders moved on to the University of Texas, where he enjoyed tremendous success.
He coached the Longhorns from 1988-98 and compiled a 208-110 mark with eight NCAA tournament appearances. He resigned in 1998 amid controversy over an accusation that he leaked a player’s grades to a radio station and discomfort from an irregular heart condition.
Penders landed on his feet at George Washington, winning 20 games in 1998-99, his first season with the Colonials. The team, however, didn’t win more than 15 games in each of Pender’s next two seasons, and he resigned in 2001.
Penders avoided the sidelines for the next few seasons, serving as a television and radio analyst for ESPN and Westwood One.
UH athletics director Dave Maggard persuaded Penders to come out of retirement to turn around the Cougars’ then-downtrodden program in 2004 – and turn it around he did.
Penders led the Cougars to three con seasons of 18 or more wins, and appearances in the NIT in his first two.
The Cougars are currently 16-4 with 10 regular-season games remaining this season, leaving a good chance Penders will have his 14th season of 20 or more wins.
"He’s one of those guys where you always feel like you’ve got a shot," associate head coach Melvin Haralson said. "I don’t know if its arrogance or confidence, but it works.
"I’m really thankful and I’m really blessed to have been able to coach with him for five years at the University of Texas and to be here going on our fourth season."
