NEDERLAND — Kevin Howard said it took him all summer to find the right scholarship offer.

York College in Nebraska and Bethel College in Kansas made offers to the Nederland center. NCAA Division III schools, which cannot offer scholarships, wanted him.

But Dodge City (Kansas) Community College lucked out and landed the 6-foot-8 forward/center.

And Howard will report to campus Sunday.

“The new coach did all his recruiting in three weeks,” Howard said before signing his letter of intent Thursday in the Dog Dome. Dodge City announced the hiring of Steve Tucker on July 18.

Howard was offered last week after playing with the AAU Texas Blue Chips in a Las Vegas tournament. Tucker visited Howard at his house and Howard called the next day to accept the welcome.

“I give him a lot of credit,” Nederland coach Brian English said. “He stayed with it, persevered and knew who he wanted. He did a great job pursuing what he wanted.”

Howard excelled as a stretch-four for the Bulldogs, who qualified for the 5A bi-district round, but he added Dodge City is looking for him to add 30 pounds to become a dominant player in the low blocks.

“I’m going to have to put some weight on and develop,” the 185-pound Howard said.

Dodge City went 20-11 last season and made the NJCAA Region VI tournament, losing a 79-77 decision to Neosho County (Kansas).
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I.C. Murrell: 721-2435. Twitter: @ICMurrellPANews