Dylan Howard enters his seventh season as the head men's basketball coach for Hardin-Simmons and he has brought the program from the depths of the conference, to one that played for the conference title last season. HSU went through a somewhat sporadic regular season and finished its 2007 campaign with a record of 16-12. However, the Cowboys defeated two teams in the ASC Tournament - LeTourneau and Mary Hardin-Baylor - that they had lost to in the regular season and then fell to nationally ranked Mississippi College in the ASC final. For the second time in three years the Cowboys had the ASC West Player of the Year in Zach Pickelman. Pickelman and Mardochee Jean were each named to the first-team All-ASC West Division squad and Jean was the defensive player of the year in the conference for the second straight season. Jean and James Peters were named to the ASC's all-defensive team and Mike Dinkins was on the ASC's all-freshman team. Howard has shown the ability to bring in the type of recruits needed to compete in the top of the league and this year's team is loaded with bigger players in the frontcourt and more speed in the backcourt. Overall, Howard has put together a career record of 63-91, despite the fact that his first three teams went a combined 14-60. Even with that record, the team showed an upward trend in wins each of those seasons from two to five to seven. Since then his record of 49-31 is among the tops in the league. He has made the first two trips in school history to the American Southwest Conference Tournament in 2005 and 2007. Both of those teams won at least one game in the tournament as well. He has coached 16 players to at least honorable mention All-ASC honors. Calvin Nite was the ASC West Player of the Year and an all-south region performer in 2005. Mardochee Jean was the ASC Defensive Player of the Year last season and was an all-south region performer. Zach Pickelman was a first-team All-ASC selection. Pickelman was also an all-region selection in 2007. HSU is also second in the Howard era to LeTourneau in the number of Academic All-ASC selections with 25. All of the players he has had that have made it through the program have graduated or are on pace to graduate this semester. Howard is the 25th head coach in Hardin-Simmons' history. Howard came to the Cowboys from Robert Morris College, where he was an assistant coach to Danny Nee. The Colonials were 7-22 in Howard's only season at the Division I, Northeast Conference School. Prior to his stint at Robert Morris, he was an assistant at the University of Saint Francis in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He helped turn the program from an eight-win team in 1997 to the No. 1 ranked team in the nation in 1999-00. The season ended in the Elite Eight of the NAIA National Tournament. As a collegian, Howard played for legendary head coach Gene Bartow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he was a four-year letterman and played in two NCAA Tournaments and one NIT Final Four. The Blazers played against Hardin-Simmons in 1989, winning 70-52. He was team captain his final two seasons. While at UAB, Howard's Blazers advanced to the Final Four of the NIT in 1989 and also made two NCAA Tournament appearances in 1986 and 1987. He was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school and played in the McDonald's Derby Classic, scoring 12 points and hauling in five rebounds. He played professionally in Taipei, Taiwan and was the 1989 Most Valuable Player of the Asian League. He was a two-time All-League selection in both 1989 and 1990. Howard has a degree in criminal justice from Alabama-Birmingham and his minor was African-American studies and master's degree from Hardin-Simmons in Sports and Recreation Management. He is also an active member in three coaching associations. He is a 12-year member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and also is a member of the Black Coaches Association and Texas Association of Basketball Coaches. Howard and wife Nicole were married in August of 2005 and he has a stepdaughter, Danielle.