By Kenneth Cross
Houston coach Kelvin Sampson took the Cougars to the Final Four two seasons ago and then they lost a 50-44 decision to Villanova in the Elite 8 in March. Houston finished 32-6 and 15-3 in the AAC where they edged out 13-4 SMU and the Memphis Tigers who finished at 13-5.
The Cougars lost four starters that were all fifth-year players and were double figures scorers who averaged a combined 22.7 rebounds per game. Regardless, UH will have opportunities to make a deep run in March as they are once again the favorite to win the American Athletic Conference.
The Cougars will welcome back their lone starter in guard Jamal Shedd as he started 32 of the 38 games and shot 46.2 percent from the field. Shedd was one of four Cougars to compete in all 38 games in 2021-22, a school record.
In addition, Houston gets back Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark, two scorers whose 2021-22 seasons ended with injuries.
Sasser had a toe injury as he was leading Houston in scoring at 17.7 points per game when he appeared in his last outing on Dec. 22. Mark underwent successful shoulder surgery around the same time in December when he was averaging 10.1 points and 2.4 assists per game.
All three of those players will give Houston a solid backcourt as depth will be supplied by senior transfer Mylik WIlson, who started his career at Louisiana in the Sun Belt Conference before playing at Texas Tech last season. Ramon Walker, Jr., is a solid rebounder as he played in 24 games last season with starts against Temple and South Florida.
Sampson added a pair of freshmen to his backcourt in Terrance Arceneaux, who was No. 66 in ESPN’s Top 100, and Emanuel Sharp, who was No. 60 in the same ranking a year ago.
Part of Houston’s mantra is a solid rebounding team with posts who are very consistent on defense around the basket. This is part of Houston’s patented defense as the Cougars only allowed their opponents to score 58.8 points per game in ’21-22, third in the nation.
The Cougars led the nation in defensive field goal percentage as their opponents shot only 37.1 percent last season.
Houston loses Fabian White and Josh Carlton as two solid players in the paint on both ends of the floor.
The return of Reggie Chaney, Ja’Vier Francis and J’Wan Roberts will supplement the interior for the Cougars. Chaney was another injured player last year as he had a tendon injury in his left hand after he started the first ten games. Roberts was solid on the offensive glass as he was third at Houston and 10th in the AAC with 2.1 offensive rebounds per outing.
Charleston Southern transfer Darius Bowser and freshman Jarace Walker will add depth in the paint. Bowser is another shot-blocker and rebounder who at 6-9, 230, can potentially be a consistent free throw shooter.
Walker was the No. 10 player nationally in ESPN’s Top 100 as he was ranked as the No. 1 power forward by both ESPN and 247 Sports.
Under Sampson, Houston is a mainstay on defense and on the boards, so Walker could enter AAC play as a favored top freshman in the AAC.
Houston’s solidity on defense can be measured by how little the Cougars foul as opponents were only 499/636 from the line a year ago. (342nd / 341st, nationally).