Centerville's Tom House, Cedarville's Pat Estepp team up in Bob Richey's program at Furman

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Pat Estepp and Tom House shared a hug on Thanksgiving Day on the court after Furman’s 73-72 victory against Richmond.

Estepp joined the Furman coaching staff in August 2024 after 24 seasons, the last 16 as a head coach, at Cedarville University. House, a 2022 Centerville High School graduate, transferred to Furman four months earlier after two seasons at Florida State.

“I love it,” said House, a 6-foot-7 senior guard. “Good people. Great culture. It kind of reminds me of home.”

Now the two former Ohioans are hoping to lead the Paladins to another memorable season. The victory against Richmond in the first round of the ESPN Events Invitational was a good step after a 3-3 start.

“This is a big-time win,” Estepp said. “We’re starting to trend up.”

Furman lost 72-65 to Illinois State the next day in the championship game of the Imagination Bracket, falling to 4-4. In their first two games, they lost to High Point and Troy, who both played in the NCAA tournament last March. Their third loss was to Northern Iowa, a 20-win team last season.

“We’ve played a brutal schedule,” Estepp said.

Furman is also a big test for opponents. It averaged 22.6 victories in head coach Bob Richey’s first eight seasons.

The Paladins upset No. 4 seed Virginia in the first round of the 2023 NCAA tournament, finishing 28-8 that season.

House arrived at Furman after experiencing a 9-23 season as a freshman at Florida State and then a 17-16 season as a sophomore. He averaged 5.9 minutes per game in 53 appearances over two seasons.

In his first season at Furman, House averaged 7.1 points in 18.5 minutes per game. Through eight games this season, he has seen his minutes increase to 21.8 but his scoring fall to 2.6.

“Tom has been great,” Estepp said. “He was starting for a little bit. We’ve just got to get him shooting the ball like he’s capable of. That’s probably been the only thing that’s holding him back right now. He’s playing well. He’s doing everything else. The shots, they’re going to come. He went through this a little bit last year, and at the end of the year, he was on fire.”

Credit: David Jablonski

Credit: David Jablonski

House scored a career-high 26 points against Mercer last February. He also had 21 points against Samford in the first round of the Southern Conference tournament.

Furman fell just short of a NCAA tournament berth last season, losing 92-85 to Wofford in the Southern Conference championship game.

“You’re right there,” Estepp said. “You’re a possession or two away from the NCAA tournament. It was a big-time, shot-making game. We couldn’t get stops when we had to. They hit some big shots. That’s given us a little extra motivation this year.”

House experienced plenty of winning in his high school year. He was Centerville’s leading scorer as a junior in the state championship season of 2021. He has a tattoo on his leg of the ring the players received after winning the state title. He also has a tattoo of his Centerville jersey and his sister Elizabeth’s Dayton Flyers volleyball jersey.

“It’s my hometown,” House said. “I love that place. I’m still connected with all those people. We’ve still got a ton of people playing basketball, so it’s fun to keep up with all of them.“

House was a senior in 2022 along with Rich Rolf, who spent three seasons at Charlotte before transferring to Youngstown State. Rolf is averaging 10.0 points in eight games this season. He has another year of eligibility after this one because he redshirted as a freshman at Charlotte.

Gabe Cupps, who was a year behind House and Rolf at Centerville, spent two seasons at Indiana before transferring to Ohio State. He’s averaging 2.7 points in 19.1 minutes per game.

House played for Gabe’s dad, Brook Cupps, at Centerville. He said Brook taught him “how to work, how to keep my head down and how to do things the right way.”

As for Estepp, he’s adapting to life in Division I after decades in the NAIA and then at the D-II level. He knew Richey for many years before joining his staff. That made the transition easier.

“At the end of the day, basketball is basketball,” Estepp said. “It’s a little faster, a little bigger, but it has been really good. I’ve enjoyed it. A lot of people have asked me, ‘Do you miss being a head coach?’ And to be honest, I don’t. There’s a lot I’m learning. Bob’s a tremendous coach. He cares about all the right things, the same things I care about.”