University of Houston Athletics
Cougars Sign Five Basketball Players
11/14/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 13, 2002
Houston, Texas - University of Houston head basketball coach Ray McCallum announced that four high school players and one junior college transfer have signed to play with the Cougars in 2003-04. The Cougars inked 6-3 point guard Lanny Smith, 6-4 shooting guard Parker Pinkalla, 6-8 small forward Andrew Francis, 6-10 center Elijah Miller and 6-9 power forward Darrius Brannon.
"Signing these outstanding players makes a great statement for our program," McCallum said. "Out coaching staff, players, and administrative staff were able to sell our program and identify some quality players and personalities.
"These players give us a solid foundation and some stability to build upon and they are proven winners from successful programs. They understand the challenge of playing in a tough conference like Conference USA."
Smith is a preseason All-Greater Houston selection from Hightower High School in Missouri City, Texas, after averaging 15 points, five rebounds and eight assists during his junior year. He also helped guide Hightower to the semifinals of the 2002 Texas Class 5A State Tournament. Rated as the best point guard in the Greater Houston area, Smith chose to attend Houston after being recruited by Oklahoma, Texas, TCU, Georgia Tech and Baylor.
Pinkalla comes to Houston after averaging 16 points and 3.8 assists per game at Strake Jesuit High School in 2001-02. He also shot 49 percent from beyond the three-point arc. He signed with Houston after being recruited by SMU and Colorado State.
Francis averaged 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists per game as a junior at Elsik High School. He came to UH after being recruited by Notre Dame, Georgia Tech Kansas State, Kent State and Baylor. He is a multi-talented player who can play several positions on the floor. Miller averaged 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots per contest at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas. He was a teammate of UH freshman guard Cedrick Hensley at Heritage Christian in 2001-02.
Brannon is regarded as one of the Top 10 power forwards in the nation by The Sporting News. He averaged 13 points, nine rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots per game as a freshman at Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Brannon originally signed with Houston out of Lincoln High School in Port Arthur, Texas, before playing at Lee in 2001-02.
As a high school senior, he named a first-team all-state selection after averaging 14.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots. He led Lincoln to a 24-9 overall record and was a starting forward on the Bumble Bees' 1998-99 squad that was a Texas Class 4A State Finalist, finishing with a 29-6 mark.
Hoop Scoop and Van Coleman's Future Stars magazines have ranked Houston's recruiting class among the nation's top 20 classes in the early signing period.
