 |  |
Steve Howes has led Catholic University to four post-season
tournaments, three 20-win seasons, two conference championships and
two NCAA Tournament appearances. And he’s done it all in just
five years. With one of the top players in the Landmark Conference,
a core of talented veterans and a strong recruiting class, he has
the 2009-10 Cardinals poised for another headline-producing
season.
Howes enters his sixth year with a mark of 92-48 and the
school’s second-highest winning percentage (.657). He has the
most victories after five seasons of any Cardinal basketball coach
and is one of only four CUA coaches to lead his team to the NCAA
playoffs. His 92 victories make him the fifth-winningest coach in
CUA’s 99-year basketball history. In a four-round online poll
conducted last year by The Washington Post, Howes was voted the
area’s best men’s basketball coach.
After winning 10 games two years ago in their first season in the
Landmark Conference, the Cardinals improved to 18-10 last season.
The club’s 8-6 league record qualified it for the four-team
conference tournament. After falling in the opening round, the
Cards advanced to the semifinals of the ECAC South Region
Championship.
Howes’ top player, sophomore Jason Banzhaf, led the Landmark
in scoring (20.3 ppg) and was named first-team All-Conference,
first-team All-Middle Atlantic Region (D3hoops.com) and honorable
mention All-American (DIII News). He was also named to the
league’s Winter All-Academic Team for his success on the
court and in the classroom.
Crowning Glory
CUA, the most successful team in Capital Athletic Conference (CAC)
history, punctuated its league affiliation by winning its second
straight CAC championship in 2006-07. The crowning moment for Howes
and the Cardinals came in an 85-75 come-from-behind victory on the
road over Hood College.
The win over top-seeded Hood put the Cards (23-6) into the NCAA
Tournament for the ninth time in 10 years. Howes enjoyed his first
victory in the tournament with a 58-37 triumph at home over Messiah
College. CUA held Messiah to the third-lowest point total in NCAA
Division III tournament history.
Howes led the Cardinals to three straight CAC title games, compiled
an 8-1 league tournament record and won six consecutive contests in
the CAC playoffs.
Helping Players Soar
Howes’ coaching and mentoring helped a bevy of Cardinals
achieve high marks athletically and academically. In 2006-07,
senior Scott Fumai was named first-team All-CAC, and seniors
Patrick Dwyer and Stephen Wheeler notched second-team honors.
Wheeler and Fumai were named to the D3hoops.com All-Region third
team.
At CUA’s Senior Student-Athlete Banquet, Wheeler received the
highest honor for male graduating student-athletes by winning the
Harris Cup in recognition of outstanding achievement in athletics,
academics, leadership and service. Dwyer was honored as Male Senior
Student Athlete of the Year, and Sean Kelly was presented a Student
Athlete Advisory Committee role model award.
Wheeler, Kelly and Dwyer were named to the National Association of
Basketball Coaches’ (NABC) Honor Court after achieving a
minimum 3.2 grade-point average. Dwyer continued his career on the
professional level by playing the 2007-08 season for the Manchester
(England) Magic.
Nick Olivero, who also played on the Cardinal football team, was
honored as CUA’s Student-Athlete of the Year in 2006-07 and
received the first John J. Convey Award. The latter is given to a
sophomore who has succeeded academically, been active in student
life and has demonstrated leadership potential. Olivero was
selected to the 2007-08 Winter Landmark All-Academic Team.
Advancing to the Postseason
Howes earned his first CAC championship and NCAA Tournament berth
in 2006 with a 79-70 victory over Salisbury University. The Cards
finished 21-7 and were 10-4 in the league. Dwyer was named
first-team All-CAC, while Shane Sowden garnered second-team
Academic All-District 2 honors and received CUA’s Harris
Cup.
Cardinal fans caught a glimpse of Howes’ coaching ability
during his first year (2004-05). CUA finished 20-10 and advanced to
the CAC title game, and Sowden was selected first-team
All-Conference. The Cards accepted a bid to the ECAC South Region
Championship and won their first two contests to advance to the
championship game.
While working under his predecessor, Mike Lonergan, Howes helped
build one of the nation’s top basketball programs.
Building Championship Teams
During Howes’ two tenures (1998-2000, 2001-2004) as a CUA
assistant, the Cardinals amassed a record of 121-26 (.823), won
five CAC regular-season titles and two CAC tournament
championships. The Cards advanced to the NCAA Tournament each year,
twice going to the Sweet Sixteen and once to the Elite Eight. The
2001-02 team went 26-3 to set the school’s season winning
percentage record (.897). Howes has coached 10 players who have
scored more than 1,000 career points.
Howes’ recruiting ability and talent-evaluation skills helped
CUA land many of the top recruits that formed the nucleus of the
Cardinals’ 2001 national championship team. Sophomore Matt
Hilleary was named All-Tournament of the 2001 Final Four and a
second-team All-American in each of his final two seasons. He
played professionally in 2006-07 in Ireland and the following year
in Italy. William Morley, a freshman on the title-winning team,
became CUA’s first first-team All-American in 2003-04.
Grooming Professionals
Howes specializes in shooting instruction and has conducted
individual workouts for many top college and professional players.
Among the athletes he helped develop are Roger Mason (San Antonio
Spurs); Earl Hunt (Brown University); Chris Monroe (George
Washington University); Eddie Lucas, a 1999 second-round draft pick
of the Utah Jazz; and James Gist, whom the Spurs selected in 2008
and played for the Italian team, Angelico Biella, last season.
Monroe plays in Greece, and he and Hunt are their respective
school’s all-time leading scorers.
Howes was Mason’s guest for the start of San Antonio’s
2009 training camp. Mason is in the Spurs’ 10-man rotation.
Washington Wizards Vice President of Basketball Operations Tommy
Sheppard also invited Howes to Washington’s 2009 rookie
camp.
Howes for three seasons (1995-98) was head JV and assistant boys
varsity coach at Good Counsel High School in Wheaton, Md., where he
helped the Falcons achieve a local Top 20 ranking each year. He
coached a host of NCAA Division I players, including Mason
(University of Virginia), Monroe, Hunt, Gist (University of
Maryland), Omari Isreal (Loyola University Maryland) and Gini
Chukura (Maryland).
In addition, Howes worked with two players (Zach Hilton and Chas
Gessner) who played in the NFL. Hilton caught 35 passes for the New
Orleans Saints in 2005 and Gessner earned a Super Bowl ring with
the 2003 New England Patriots.
In 1998, Howes served as an assistant in the prestigious Capital
Classic high school All-Star game, which featured the Indiana
Pacers’ Troy Murphy. Howes was on Lonergan’s staff for
the following two seasons and then returned to Good Counsel before
rejoining the Cards in 2001.
Howes and CUA Athletic Director Mike Allen joined the 2008 NBA
World Champion Boston Celtics when they were honored at the White
House in September 2008 by former President George W. Bush.
Coaching Tree
When Howes became the 20th head basketball coach in CUA history on
July 19, 2004, he stepped into a role that has launched the careers
of many successful coaches. His mentor, Lonergan, is in his fifth
year as head coach at the University of Vermont. Tom Young was an
assistant coach for the Washington Wizards three years ago and won
more than 500 games on the college level. Jack Kvancz is George
Washington’s athletic director and Bob Valvano is an ESPN
broadcaster. The late Jack Bruen led Colgate University to two NCAA
Division I tournaments.
Although he never coached the Cardinals, former CUA standout Jimmy
Patsos followed his successful tenure as a Maryland assistant by
becoming head coach at Division I Loyola University Maryland.
John Becker, one of Howes’ former assistant coaches, is
now an assistant at Vermont. Two of Howes’ former Cardinal
players and a manager are assistant coaches in college: Aaron Kelly
(Bucknell University), Mike Wasilenko (Salisbury [Md.] University)
and Andrew Gunderson (Averett University).
Terry Sullivan, who worked on Howes’ staff last year, is now
a video coordinator intern for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Playing Days
After playing at Frostburg (Md.) State University from 1991-93,
Howes transferred to CUA for his final two seasons. He started 14
games as a junior under Lonergan, including a 12-point, 12-rebound
performance at Gettysburg College. He graduated from The Catholic
University of America in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in
history.
A team captain and Coach’s Award winner at Good Counsel,
Howes played on a team that set the Falcons’ record for most
wins up to that time. He received the school’s Christian
Conduct Award as a junior and graduated in 1991.
Personal
Howes taught religion and history at Good Counsel from 1997 to
2004. He’s active in the NABC and has been a featured speaker
at numerous basketball camps. He hosts a camp at CUA each
summer.
Stephen Todd Howes, 36, is a native of Washington, D.C. His wife,
Melanie, also graduated from Good Counsel and played varsity field
hockey and soccer at Immaculata College. They live in Olney, Md.,
with their son, Michael Patrick, 5, and daughter, Sarah Elizabeth,
1.
Harvey Powell
Harvey Powell returns for his third season on Steve Howes’
staff, where his chief responsibilities are coaching the
Cardinals’ wing players and recruiting locally. Prior to his
CUA tenure, he coached some of the area’s top players in the
high school and AAU ranks.
Powell was the associate head coach at Georgetown Preparatory
School in North Bethesda, Md., from 2004-07. The Little Hoyas won
the Interstate Athletic Conference regular-season championship in
2005-06 and were tournament champions the following year. Powell
coached Robert Olson (Loyola University Maryland), Markel Starks
(Georgetown University) and Garvey Young (University of
Vermont).
Powell was an assistant coach with the Maryland Madness AAU team
for three years (2004-06) under 17-year NBA veteran Buck Williams.
The squad placed 10th in the AAU 15-and-under national tournament
in 2004; sixth (16-and-under) the following year; and fifth
(17-and-under) in 2006. The teams included four players who won
Division I scholarships: Young, Evann Baker (Quinnipiac
University), Gus Gilchrist (South Florida University) and Jerai
Grant (Clemson University).
Powell began his basketball coaching career in 1998 as an assistant
with the 13-and-under Maryland Blazers. He helped guide the AAU
team to the Division II Final Four in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Players
included Stanley Hodge, who played at Niagara University; Erik
Smith, who played at Lehigh University; and Doug Dutch, who played
football at the University of Michigan. From 2001-04, Powell was
the head coach of 9-and-under to 12-and-under Madness teams. His
10-and-under club went to Orlando, Fla., in 2002 and won the AAU
Classic Championship.
Powell played offensive guard in football for two years at DeMatha
Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., and started as a senior.
He helped the Stags win two Washington Catholic Athletic Conference
championships (1993-94) and graduated in 1995. His coach was the
highly regarded Bill McGregor.
A native of Washington, D.C., Powell earned his bachelor’s
degree in government and politics from the University of Maryland
in 2000. He has worked at the past four CUA summer basketball camps
and teaches sixth-grade reading and social studies at Robert Frost
Elementary School in New Carrollton, Md. He is single and lives in
the nation’s capital.
Joe Reed
Joe Reed paid immediate dividends in his first year on Coach
Howes’ staff last season. Responsible for recruiting in the
New York and New England areas, he was instrumental in recruiting
four of the Cardinals’ nine freshmen on this year’s
team. He also coaches CUA’s point guards.
Reed joined the Cards after serving as a graduate assistant coach
at his alma mater, Springfield (Mass.) College, in 2006-08. In
addition to his varsity coaching duties, he played a key role in
recruiting and scouting and was the head JV coach both years. He
also developed the players’ off-season workouts and served on
the NCAA Division III Northeast Men’s Basketball Regional
Advisory Committee.
Reed was a reserve point guard for two years (2000-02) at
Springfield. In 2002-03, he started for St. Martins University in
Lancaster, England and averaged 20.2 points per game to lead the
team in scoring. He graduated cum laude from Springfield in 2004
with a bachelor of science degree in physical education. He added a
master’s in physical education from the school in 2008, with
a concentration in athletic administration.
Reed was an assistant JV coach at Springfield during his senior
year (2003-04). A couple months later he became the head JV boys
coach at East Windsor (Conn.) High School. He coached freshmen
girls at Washington & Lee High School in Arlington, Va., in
2004-05 and became head girls varsity coach the following
season.
A two-year (1998-2000) starting point guard at Holy Trinity High
School on Long Island, N.Y., Reed was a second-team All-Long Island
(Catholic division) honoree as a senior. He ranked second among New
York Catholic school players in 3-pointers made. Reed, who played
center field as a junior on the Titans’ baseball team, was a
member of the National Honor Society his final two years before
graduating from Holy Trinity in 2000.
Reed started for two teams (1997 Long Island Lightning and 1999
Long Island Hurricanes) that advanced to the AAU Boys Basketball
National Championships in Orlando, Fla. He teaches health and
physical education at Abingdon Elementary School in Arlington, Va.,
and owns an adult recreation sports company, Orange Line Sports. A
native of Long Island, N.Y., he is single and lives in Arlington.
Eyal Fierst
In addition to his coaching duties, second-year assistant coach
Eyal Fierst recruits nationally, coordinates the team’s
day-to-day operations, scouts opponents and analyzes game
video.
Fierst joined the CUA coaching staff after a successful three-year
run (2005-08) as head boys basketball coach at Charles E. Smith
Jewish Day School in Rockville, Md. His team was a combined 51-15,
including a 21-3 mark in 2006-07. The Lions won their division the
previous year. Fierst coached the best player in school history,
Eitan Chemerinski, who will be a freshman at Cornell University
this season.
Fierst was also an assistant athletic director and girls soccer
coach while at Jewish Day and taught human development and exercise
science. His 2007 soccer team posted the best record (12-2) in
school history.
Fierst was a starting pitcher for three years for the Jewish Day
baseball team and graduated in 1993. He was undefeated as a
sophomore and helped the Lions win the school’s first
baseball championship. He was selected for three Potomac Valley
Athletic Conference (PVAC) All-Star games and was named All-PVAC
each year. He played basketball as a senior and helped the club win
the PVAC regular-season title.
Fierst spent his freshman year of college in Israel through the
University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He attended Binghamton (N.Y.)
University the following year and then the University of Maryland.
In 1996-97 he served an administrative internship with the
Washington Bullets (now Wizards). He began coaching middle school
boys soccer and baseball and JV boys basketball in 1996 at Jewish
Day. After six years he became an assistant coach at Guilford
College. He coached there for two seasons and graduated from the
Greensboro, N.C., school with a bachelor of science degree in
sports management in 2003.
In 2003-05, Fierst helped start the boys basketball program as head
coach at Greensboro’s American Hebrew Academy. He also taught
physical education and health, was an assistant athletic director
and coached the boys and girls soccer teams.
A native of Eilat, Israel, Fierst moved to the United States in
1982. He and his wife, Lesley, live in Silver Spring, Md., with
their daughter Aviva (5-24-08).
Joe Williams
Joseph Williams, in his first year at CUA, recruits nationally,
is responsible for video exchange and assists in the
program’s day-to-day operations.
Williams began his coaching career as an assistant coach at New
York’s Baruch College. During his three-year tenure
(2004-07), he helped guide the Bearcats to two City University of
New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) North Division titles
(2005-07). After a 17-9 campaign his first season, Baruch finished
23-6 the following year and advanced to the NCAA Division III
tournament. In 2007-08, Williams was the head JV boys coach at the
Sport & Medical Sciences Academy in Hartford, Conn., where he
led the team to a 14-4 record.
A starting point guard as a junior at Stone Mountain (Ga.) High
School, Williams transferred to South Gwinnett High in Snellville,
Ga., for his senior season. The team’s sixth man, he helped
lead the Comets to the 1999 Region 8 5A championship.
Williams then played at Cerro Coso Community College in
Ridegecrest, Calif., where he was a two-year starting point guard.
He graduated with an associate of arts degree in 2001.
At John Jay College in New York, Williams started for half of his
junior year and was the Bloodhounds’ sixth man as a senior
(2002-03). The team won the CUNYAC regular-season title that year
and appeared in the ECAC Metro Region tournament. He earned a
bachelor of arts degree in criminal justice in 2004.
Williams, a native of Atlanta, is a behavior specialist at Options
Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. He has a son, Fabian
(10-18-02), and lives in Laurel, Md.
