2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Conference American Athletic Conference
2014–15 record 13–19 (4–14 American)
Head coach Kelvin Sampson (1st year)
Assistant coach Alvin Brooks
Assistant coach Talvin Hester
Assistant coach Kellen Sampson
Home arena Hofheinz Pavilion
2014–15 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#18 SMU † 15 – 3   .833     27 – 7   .794
Tulsa 14 – 4   .778     23 – 11   .676
Temple 13 – 5   .722     26 – 11   .703
Cincinnati 13 – 5   .722     23 – 11   .676
Connecticut 10 – 8   .556     20 – 15   .571
Memphis 10 – 8   .556     18 – 14   .563
Tulane 6 – 12   .333     15 – 16   .484
East Carolina 6 – 12   .333     14 – 19   .424
UCF 5 – 13   .278     12 – 18   .400
Houston 4 – 14   .222     13 – 19   .406
South Florida 3 – 15   .167     9 – 23   .281
† AAC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marks the first for the team under head coach Kelvin Sampson[1] and second as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Cougars’ home arena is the on-campus Hofheinz Pavilion.

Pre-season

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Morris, BrandonBrandon Morris 2 G 6'0" 185 Senior Alexandria, Louisiana Graduated
Simmons, JaaronJaaron Simmons 3 G 6'1" 175 Freshman Dayton, Ohio Requested release to move closer to home; transferred to Ohio[2]
Jones, JimmyJimmy Jones 12 G 5'10" 160 Senior Plano, Texas Graduated
Womack, TioneTione Womack 14 G 6'1" 170 Senior Baltimore, Maryland Graduated
House, DanuelDanuel House 23 G 6'7" 195 Sophomore Sugar Land, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Texas A&M[3]
Paye, LawrenceLawrence Paye 24 G 6'0" 185 Senior Houston, Texas Graduated
Thomas, TaShawnTaShawn Thomas 35 F 6'8" 215 Junior Killeen, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Oklahoma[4]
Izundu, ValentineValentine Izundu 45 C 6'10" 215 Sophomore Houston, Texas Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Washington St.[5]
Richardson, J.J.J.J. Richardson 55 F 6'8" 245 Senior Missouri City, Texas Graduated

Returnees

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Knowles, DanradDanrad Knowles 0 F 6'10" 195 Sophomore Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 31 games as a freshman with 10 starts. Two-time American Rookie of the Week. Third on the team in rebounding. Averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game on 47% shooting.
McLean, MikhailMikhail McLean 1 F 6'8" 205 Senior Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 28 games as a junior with 16 starts. Averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game on 49% shooting.
Barnes, LeRonLeRon Barnes 4 G 6'6" 190 Junior Stonewall, Louisiana Competed in 30 games as a sophomore with 15 starts. Averaged 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on 39% shooting.
Rose, L.J.L.J. Rose 5 G 6'4" 190 Junior Houston, Texas Competed in 28 games as a sophomore with 25 starts. Led the American Conference in assists at 5.5 per game. Finished 11th in the conference at 77.8% from the free throw line. Scored 8.5 points with 2.5 rebounds per game on 40% shooting.
Drexler, AdamAdam Drexler 20 F 6'5" 205 Junior Houston, Texas Redshirted last season after transferring from Loyola Marymount.
Stiggers, JherrodJherrod Stiggers 21 G 6'5" 210 Junior Terrell, Texas Competed in 33 games as a sophomore with 9 starts. Finished as the third leading scorer with 11.2 points per game. Ranked 3rd in the American Conference with 2.4 three-pointers per game. Also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 39% shooting.

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Johnson, RonnieRonnie Johnson G 5'10" 160 Sophomore Indianapolis, Indiana Transferred from Purdue; will sit out the 2014–15 season[6]

Class of 2014 signees

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Cavon Baker
PG		 Queens, NY Lee College 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 30, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Egi Gjikondi
PF		 Boston, MA San Jacinto College 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) May 14, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Torian Graham
SG		 Marianna, FL Chipola Junior College 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Apr 20, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Bertrand Nkali
PF		 Baytown, TX Lee College 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) May 16, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Devonta Pollard
SF		 De Kalb, MS East Mississippi CC 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) May 21, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
J.C. Washington
PF		 Houston, TX Yates HS 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Nov 22, 2013 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 73
Eric Weary
SG		 New Orleans, LA Howard College 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Apr 21, 2014 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Injuries

In July, both LJ Rose and Mikhail McLean had foot surgery. Each is expected to need three or four months to recover. [7]

Schedule and results

On May 28, the American Athletic Conference announced the format and opponents for the 2014–15 conference schedule. Due to an odd number of conference members and maintaining an 18-game schedule, each team will play 8 opponents twice (home and away) and the remaining 2 opponents once (1 home, 1 away). UConn (home) and Temple (away) are the two teams the Cougars play just once this season.[8] On July 18, the team announced that it will participate in the championship pairings of the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, alongside Boise State, Texas Tech, and Loyola–Chicago, to be held at the Orleans Arena. Two on-campus games will precede the Las Vegas-hosted games,[9]one of which will be South Carolina State.[10] In August, ESPN reported that Houston would visit Harvard on November 25.[11] The remainder of the Cougars' schedule was announced by the American Athletic Conference on August 28.[12]

Date Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
Exhibition
Nov 8* North Alabama W 108–83  – Hofheinz Pavilion
Regular Season
Nov 14* at Murray State W 77–74  1–0 CFSB Center (5,056)
Nov 22* Morgan State W 72–57  2–0 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,058)
Nov 25* at Harvard L 63–84  2–1 Lavietes Pavilion (1,423)
Dec 4* Texas–Pan American W 72–58  3–1 Hofheinz Pavilion (1,858)
Dec 6* Abilene Christian W 71–59  4–1 Hofheinz Pavilion (2,007)
Dec 16* Houston Baptist W 83–76  5–1 Hofheinz Pavilion (2,016)
Dec 17* Arkansas–Pine Bluff
(Las Vegas Classic regional round)		 L 56–61  5–2 Hofheinz Pavilion (2,082)
Dec 20* South Carolina State
(Las Vegas Classic regional round)		 L 63–71  5–3 Hofheinz Pavilion (1,996)
Dec 22* vs. Boise State
(Las Vegas Classic semifinals)		 L 73–75 OT 5–4 Orleans Arena (N/A)
Dec 23* vs. Texas Tech
(Las Vegas Classic 3rd place game)		 W 82–69  6–4 Orleans Arena (N/A)
Dec 28* Mississippi Valley State W 80–53  7–4 Hofheinz Pavilion (2,147)
Dec 31 at Memphis L 54–73  7–5 (0–1) FedEx Forum (13,415)
Jan 4 at Tulsa L 54–72  7–6 (0–2) Reynolds Center (4,171)
Jan 6 UCF L 78–79 OT 7–7 (0–3) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,003)
Jan 11 Memphis L 44–62  7–8 (0–4) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,697)
Jan 14 at East Carolina L 61–66  7–9 (0–5) Minges Coliseum (4,368)
Jan 17 Tulane L 65–68  7–10 (0–6) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,547)
Jan 21 at Cincinnati L 54–67  7–11 (0–7) Fifth Third Arena (9,815)
Jan 24 at SMU L 59–80  7–12 (0–8) Moody Coliseum (7,094)
Jan 28* Rice W 59–48  8–12 Hofheinz Pavilion (3,465)
Feb 1 Connecticut W 60–58  9–12 (1–8) Hofheinz Pavilion (3,498)
Feb 5 Tulsa L 57–44  9–13 (1–9) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,847)
Feb 12 #25 SMU L 69–75  9–14 (1–10) Hofheinz Pavilion (3,315)
Feb 15 at UCF L 54–56  9–15 (1–11) CFE Arena (4,269)
Feb 17 at South Florida L 67–69  9–16 (1–12) USF Sun Dome (3,128)
Feb 21 Cincinnati L 53–63  9–17 (1–13) Hofheinz Pavilion (3,562)
Feb 26 at Temple L 54–66  9–18 (1–14) Liacouras Center (7,023)
Mar 1 South Florida W 72–55  10–18 (2–14) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,816)
Mar 4 at Tulane W 68-63 OT 11–18 (3–14) Devlin Fieldhouse (2,041)
Mar 8 East Carolina W 72-54  12–18 (4–14) Hofheinz Pavilion (2,879)
American Athletic Conference Tournament
Mar 12 vs. Tulane
(First Round)		 W 66–60  13–18 XL Center
Mar 13 vs. Tulsa
(Quarterfinal)		 L 51–59  13–19 XL Center
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. ( ) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

  1. ↑ Cougars hire Kelvin Sampson, ESPN.com, retrieved 29 May 2014
  2. ↑ Houston Freshman PG Jaaron Simmons Transfers To Ohio, SB Nation, retrieved 29 May 2014
  3. ↑ Former UH guard Danuel House transfers to A&M, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 1 June 2014
  4. ↑ Former UH basketball player Thomas heading to Oklahoma, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014
  5. ↑ Valentine Izundu granted release from UH basketball team, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014
  6. ↑ Purdue transfer Ronnie Johnson lands at Houston, CBS Sports, retrieved 29 May 2014
  7. ↑ Surgeries Not Expected to Make McLean, Rose Miss Any Games, Chron.com, retrieved 16 August 2014
  8. ↑ 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule Format Announced, TheAmerican.org, retrieved 29 May 2014
  9. ↑ Men's Basketball to Compete at Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, UHCougars.com, retrieved 23 June 2014
  10. ↑ SC STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL RELEASES 2014-15 SCHEDULE, retrieved 16 August 2014
  11. ↑ Harvard Hoops Schedule in Focus, retrieved 16 August 2014
  12. ↑ American Athletic Conference Announces 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule, TheAmerican.org, retrieved 30 August 2014

External links