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LOCATION: Beaumont, TX
CONFERENCE: Southland
LAST SEASON: 17-11 (.607)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 11-7 (t-5th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Cardinals
COLORS: Red & White
HOMECOURT: Montagne Center (10,080)
COACH: Mike Deane (Potsdam State '74)
record at school First year
career record 290-157 (15 years)
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ASSISTANTS: Dan Theiss (Plattsburgh State '81)
Leonard Drake (Central Michigan '78)
Brian Bidlingmyer (Siena College '95)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 11-12-15-15-17
RPI (last 5 years) 241-208-169-178-215
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference semifinal.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Mike Deane is a long way from Milwaukee. After his seemingly successful tenure at Marquette quickly derailed last winter, the 15-year coaching veteran landed in the unlikely basketball hamlet of Beaumont, Texas. Deane has coached at various stops throughout the Northeast and Midwest, but the Deep South is a new and refreshing locale. The Stony Point, N.Y., native's only previous experience south of the Mason-Dixon line has come during Conference USA road trips. "I know absolutely nothing about the league," Deane said. "My only expectations are from what I hear from my assistants. Basically, I know that Texas-San Antonio, Northeast Louisiana (now Louisiana-Monroe), McNeese State and one of those guys that fought in the Alamo Stephen F. Austin or Sam Houston are the teams to beat." Deane said the Lamar program compares favorably to his first Division I head coaching job at Siena (1986-94). "It has not been a difficult adjustment," Deane said. "I was at Siena just six season ago. I know that you just don't jump on a plane on a whim to go see a recruit. You have to utilize your resources more wisely here."
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT B INTANGIBLES B+
Like all good coaches, Mike Deane adjusts his coaching style to his personnel. At Siena, his teams were known for strong half-court offenses. At Marquette, his teams were recognized for their mental toughness and physical defense. Now in the swingman-heavy Southland, he must adjust again. "The worst thing I could do is make wholesale changes from what coach Giovanine did the year before," Deane said. "We will not make any major changes in tempo and style. Any changes we make will be more subtle." Deane's arrival has the folks in Beaumont buzzing about a return to the mid-'80s heydays. But Dean's considerable coaching ability will be tested early. He must mix in nine newcomers while navigating an early season schedule that includes trips to SMU, San Francisco, Rice and Oklahoma. Home games against Drake, Tulane and Texas A&M also await. If the young Cardinals survive the nonconference schedule with egos intact, they are capable of challenging the SLC's top teams. However, with only four returning lettermen on board, the Cardinals might be a transition year away from joining the league's elite. Still, the intense Deane and his dangerous squad will make for many long nights at the Montagne Center for invading teams. |
Deane was forced out at Marquette after a disappointing 14-15 record, the only time in Deane's five-year tenure in Milwaukee that he failed to win 20 games or earn a postseason berth. Deane replaces Grey Giovanine, who resigned after compiling an 80-85 record and failing to earn a postseason berth in six seasons. Lamar, which downgraded from the Sun Belt to the Southland before last season, has long been considered a hidden jewel among southern coaches. The school has an ardent core of supporters and a glittering state-of-the-art arena, the 10,080-seat Montagne Center, that is the envy of the league. Deane's charge is to lead the school back to its glory days of the early- and mid-80s when the Cardinals, led by Billy Tubbs and Pat Foster, were regular NCAA and NIT competitors. "Those years are very much in the minds of these fans," Deane said. "They are really eager to get back to that." Deane inherits four returning starters from a 17-11 team that tied for fifth in the SLC regular-season race and upset a talented Louisiana-Monroe team, 90-71, in the first round of the league tournament. There are other reasons for optimism: The Cardinals led the SLC in rebounding margin (43.1-35.5), three-point shooting (.392 percent) and free-throw shooting (.739 percent) and were second in scoring (76.6) and field-goal percentage defense (40.7). Deane got a jump start on evaluating his personnel by retaining Leonard Drake as an assistant on his staff. He also recruited frontcourt starters Marlone Jackson and Landon Rowe for his U.S. team that competed in Italy this summer. Rowe (12.3 ppg, 7.6 rpg, .728 FT), a 6-8 senior, is the Cardinals' leading returning scorer and rebounder. A smooth baseline player, Rowe led the team in scoring 11 times. His most impressive effort was an 18-point, 13-rebound night against Louisiana-Monroe's Mike Smith in a 68-64 road loss. Deane calls the 225-pound Jackson "a poor man's Cris Crawford." Jackson (7.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is the Cardinals' main interior force who has improved his scoring ability during the offseason. The 6-8 senior center/forward posted four double-doubles last season, including an 18-point, 10-rebound effort in a 75-72 victory against Stephen F. Austin. Kenyon Spears, a 6-3 junior, would be a shooting guard in most leagues, but in the slasher-friendly Southland, he is a prototype three man. Spears (11.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 78 assists, 80 FT) is the Cardinals' "best all-around player," Deane said. "There's not a lot of flair in his game, but he does a little bit of everything well." Newcomers Lewis Airline, Claude Doucet, Brennen White, Terrell Petteway and Clint Watts will lend depth up front. White arrives after a Proposition 48 season. The 6-6, 230-pound sophomore is a wide body who averaged 17.4 points and 8.4 rebounds at New Orleans Kennedy High. He will back up Jackson in the post. Doucet is a native of Anchorage, Alaska, where he prepped with Duke All-American Tranjan Langdon at East High School. A small forward/power forward hybrid, the 6-6, 210-pound junior averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds at South Plains (Texas) Junior College. Airline, a 6-6 freshman, was a partial qualifier who practiced with the team last season. A thin, athletic small forward, Arline averaged 15.8 points and 12.1 rebounds at Silsbee (Texas) High School. Petteway (17.9 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 3.2 bpg at Galveston (Texas) O'Connell HS), a 6-7 freshman, is a redshirt candidate. Watts is a 6-11, 266-pound freshman walk-on from Clyde (Texas) HS. The Cardinals' strength will be in the backcourt despite losing leading scorer Matt Sundblad (13.7 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.2 apg). Along with Spears, speedy senior point guard Malcolm McCreight (7.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 111 assists, 48 steals) returns. The 5-8 Memphis native started strong in his first season out of Jackson State Community College but faded down the stretch. Deane's staff has worked with McCreight to diversify his game, including adding a "Sherman Douglas-style" running shot and the kick-out pass to the perimeter off penetration. Deane is particularly high on Eddie Robinson, a 6-3 freshman from Muncie (Ind.) Central High. Robinson (14.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 4.3 apg), whom Deane scouted initially while at Marquette, is a tremendous passer and defender at the point with his long arms and height. "He is our point guard of the future," Deane said. "He's not a shooter but a slasher. He gets to the basket with his penetration. He's a typical Indiana high school player. We were very fortunate to get him." The Cardinals have three newcomers to pick from for shooting guard depth. Deane calls 6-2 freshman Thaydeus Holden (14.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg) "our most talented player." Holden, a former teammate of Airline's at Silsbee (Texas) HS, practiced with the team last season after gaining academic eligibility at the semester break. "Thaydeus is an ungodly athlete who can supply points in a lot of ways," Deane said. "Now whether that talent translates to productivity remains to be seen." Ron Austin, a 6-3 freshman, was another of Deane's late additions. Austin played at Brother Rice HS in Detroit before attending Winchendon (Mass.) Prep School, where the slashing swingman averaged 15 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals last season. Bobby Manheimer, a 6-1 junior, averaged 17.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists at Northland Pioneer (Ariz.) Junior College. Manheimer is a tremendous outside shooting threat who led Northland Pioneer to a 46-16 record during his two-year career. He finished as the school's all-time leading three-point scorer with 248 career three-pointers. "This is a non-center league," Deane said. "We will play much faster here than our teams did at Marquette. A three-guard lineup will be the norm for us the majority of the time."
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