George Washington University Athletics
Tom Penders Chat Transcript
10/26/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CNNSI Host: CNNSI.com picked you to finish third in the A-10. Is that about right? Going into a season, do you favor high expectations or low expectations?
Tom Penders: Well, I am not sure where we should be picked to finish, but I expect us to be improved over last year. Last season, we were 9-7 in Atlantic-10 play and tied for second in the A-10 West. I expect us to be a better team this year. We have almost everyone back. We only graduated one player -- Francisco DeMiranda, who was a reserve. We've also added four players we think will help us. So we should be a better ball club than we were last year.
From Travis in Gainesville, Fla.: Who do think will win the A-10, and how many teams do you think will make the NCAA tournament?
Tom Penders: Well, I'll answer the last part first. I think we have five teams that have chances: Temple and UMass look very, very strong. Xavier and Dayton are very strong teams that I think have an excellent chance to make the tournament. And I think we have a great chance. We also have a couple of other teams like St. Joseph. They have their entire team back, and I think they will be a postseason team. And everyone picks Fordham to be a postseason team, as well. They have a very good team from last year and Bob Hill, their coach, is in the second year now. I think the A-10 will be very strong this year -- stronger than preseason ratings suggest. I believe there are 90 percent of starters returning in the A-10 this year from last year. A lot of leagues lose players but our league returns almost everybody this year.
From GWHoops: Your backcourt is obviously very strong and can carry you to some wins. What are you doing with your frontcourt players this year in order to ensure more balance?
Tom Penders: We think our recruiting efforts, number one, Attila Cosby, has been added to the team and is good enough to start at Pitt for two years. Just his presence will add a lot to our front court but he is not scheduled to start playing until Christmas because he is a transfer student who came in at midseason last year. He is 6-foot-9 and can score, rebound and block shots. We also expect Marquin Chandler, a 6-7 freshman forward from Oakland to really help up front. He had 48 points in a 60-minute scrimmage last Sunday with officials working the game. We also hope that returning front court players will improve, like Jason Smith, Patrick Ngongba and Antxon Iturbe. And 7-foot Albert Roma seems to have improved over the past, and we think he might be able to help.
From Scott King Minneapolis, Minn.: Tom, are you surprised by what happened under Clem Haskins at the University of Minnesota? It seems I recall something a few years ago where you questioned Haskins' methods in the recruitment of Kevin Nathaniel, who at the time you were recruiting for the University of Texas.
Tom Penders: Yeah, it wouldn't be fair of me to pass judgement on Clem Haskins in this particular instance, because it seems that he can't defend himself. It's unfair to criticize somebody publicly, when you don't have all of the facts and all of the important data available. During that specific incident, I was upset about recruiting, but that was an entirely different thing. Clem and I straightened that out between ourselves, and talked about it. I don't like to see any coach go through difficult times and don't believe what I read in the papers. It seems from what I read, that they are accusing Coach Haskins of paying a tutor and the rest is all very confusing. I'd be the last person to pass judgement on Clem Haskins. It seems to me that they are trying to make him a scapegoat at this point.
From Matt in Dallas: What is the hardest thing about taking over a new basketball program? What is the easiest thing?
Tom Penders: Well, there are so many things involved, and every program requires different approaches. George Washington is a program that was in good shape when I took it over. My job is to bring it to a higher level, which is not an easy thing to do because people at GW are used to being successful. I believe Mike Jarvis brought GW to 4 NCAAs in eight years, and that's how coaches are measured today. So I have my work cut out for me here, moreso than any other school I've been at, because there were not expectations when I took over at Texas or Rhode Island. There were no expectations when I took over at Fordham, Columbia or Tufts. All of those schools had no tradition of success before I became the coach there. George Washington University has been a successful program, so the challenge is tougher for me because Mike Jarvis raised the bar, and I've been asked to improve on a good situation.
From Paul J. Dougherty in the Bronx, N.Y.: Dear Coach: As I recall, when you were the Fordham coach, you once lived in the lower Westchester County area. Would not the proposed hotel/conference center/arena in Mt. Vernon (10,250 capacity) be a better site for a conference tournament, a site that would have no problems selling out, hotels, public transportation, etc.?
Tom Penders: I think Philadelphia is a great city to have the A-10 tournament in. They support it and the media attention is terrific. It's kind of a league decision, though. I try to just coach my team and not worry about where tournaments are played, but I think Philadelphia is a great venue for A-10 playoffs. It's a fairly neutral site and it' s a great basketball town, with experienced sports media covering the event. I am sure New York would be great as well, so would Providence, or Washington D.C., for that matter. I am very pleased with the tournament being in Philadelphia at this point. The Big East has their tournament in New York, and it's at the same time as our tournament. So I think it makes sense to stay where we are, where it gets great coverage.
From Thomas in Austin, Texas: Do you miss Austin? What are the main differences between the Texas and the East Coast?
Tom Penders: Yeah, I do miss Austin, it's a great place to live and raise my family and the people were special. My family and I were treated extremely well there and I still have many close friends in Austin that I am in touch with almost on a daily basis. So Austin is very much a part of me and I'm sure I will always be identified with the University of Texas and my 10 years in Austin were great years. I don't think there are great differences between living in Austin and where I now live. I moved from the state capital of a great state to the nation's capital and people are people. I've been treated extremely well here, and the only difference is I need an overcoat here in the wintertime but there is not a big difference between Austin and Potomac, Maryldn .. they are two of the nicest places in the country to live -- I am very lucky.
From Andy Cohn in Dallas: George Washington plays Tennessee this year, right? What is your preseason assessment of the Volunteers?
Tom Penders: I think Tennessee will be in everybody's top 10 preseason and probably preseason favorite to be the top team in the SEC and I am really pleased that we will have the opportunity to play such a great team because of the RPI. We have nothing to loose by playing such a great program.
From Courtney in New York: Should college athletes be paid? Do you think student athletes will ever receive a stipend of some sort?
Tom Penders: I believe student athletes should receive a stipend and I am not sure what the stipend should be -- maybe a hundred dollars a month would be a reasonable sum because student athletes can't work during the season for extra money and many of the players playing basketball come from economically deprived situations. I think $100 a month would be a very reasonable and affordable figure .. call it laundry money or expense money. When I was in college in the '60s we received a monthly check for laundry expenses and I'm sure these players could use that money for telephone bills, laundry, the same expenses every student has.
I think, in the future, you will see stipends. There might be a super-division of college athletics. It might be called NCAA Division-AAA. Schools in the division will pay their student athletes a monthly stipend and those who want to play in that division will follow suit or find their own level to compete at. That's what I foresee in the future. I've heard this discussed at many levels The schools that want to compete at the highest levels generate the income or commit the money, revenues, to play at the highest levels and sooner or later those schools are going to separate themselves from all the rest. Maybe not in my lifetime, but it will happen, in my opinion.
From Nick: Who do you like in the World Series?
Tom Penders: I am a former professional baseball player. I played with the Cleveland Indians organization. Obviously, at this point, it will take a miracle for the Mets to pull it off. I think the Yankees have the best team in baseball, and the Mets will get them next year. This year, "forget about it." I just happen to be one who likes both teams and no matter who wins, New York has a world championship. I spent 12 years coaching in New York, so I like both teams.
CNNSI Host: That's all the time we have today with George Washington coach Tom Penders. Thanks again for joining us, Coach. Good luck this season.
Tom Penders: Thanks! I enjoyed it.
