Coach Kelvin Sampson is turning Houston Basketball into the premier program in the American. Earlier last week they landed a key transfer in Quentin Grimes that will keep Houston at the top of the league standings.
A big signing occurred for Houston Basketball with the addition of former Kansas Jayhawks guard Quentin Grimes, who transferred after withdrawing from the NBA Draft on deadline day. The Cougars now hope that he can make an impact in a league that has gotten better.
The American Athletic Conference has been at the forefront of college basketball news for a good part of the offseason. Early on Memphis was all the rage, as everyone tries to wrap their head around the potential of the young Tigers and their outstanding recruiting class. Wichita State also made the headlines as they dismissed talented guard Teddy Allen following a domestic disturbance. Allen was the type of player to help the Shockers climb back to the top of the league.
The Cincinnati Bearcats, the flagship program in the American conference saw their coach leave to UCLA, but the new head man running the Bearcats won’t skip a beat and the team will be back on top soon. Most recently, the UConn Huskies announced their intention to leave the American behind and head back to the Big East. UConn belongs in the Big East and their departure, even though UConn never lived up to the lofty expectations placed on it in the American, has left many fans of American Conference hoops with a sour taste in their mouth.
The one constant in all of this is the Houston Cougars and coach Kelvin Sampson. Coach Sampson is fresh off the schools first Sweet 16 appearance in 34 years, and the momentum is not slowing down at all. In the last two offseasons, Sampson has had to replace his best player. The first was star senior Rob Gray who graduated, leaving a void. Sampson was able to have a better result the next year with a team devoid of a true “take over the game” star, although Corey Davis was the closest thing to it.
This year’s roster has a lot of talent and big expectations and the Cougars are looking for an encore performance of their Sweet 16 run. Coach Sampson looked ready to make yet another run with a solid group of players and no star, until Kansas transfer Quentin Grimes committed to Houston late last week. His addition provides roster flexibility and a team that should be near the top of the conference for the next handful of years.
Roster Breakdown
*Currently Grimes will have to sit out a year. He is expected to apply for a waiver. Many close to the situation expect the waiver for immediate eligibility to be granted. For the purpose of this piece it should be assumed that Grimes will receive the waiver to play right away.
Dejon Jarreau
Jarreau enters his redshirt junior season ready to take the reigns of the offense. The Cougars are hoping the guard steps up and helps fill the void left by stars Corey Davis Jr and Armoni Brooks. The guard enters his second season with head coach Kelvin Sampson as he was a transfer from UMass. The former UMass guard is great at getting into the paint for the easy lay-in and has shown a penchant for getting fouled. He did make 36% of his attempts from long-range a season ago, but the attempts were minimal. The reigning American Sixth Man of the Year will be an all-conference player with an increased workload. He is one part of the great backcourt that should keep Houston near the top of the conference.
Nate Hinton
The sophomore guard has all the makings of a breakout player, and with a breakout year Hinton can become the type of player Houston can ride all the way to the top of the American. The guard makes up the other half of a great backcourt. A lot like last season the guards are going to be what Houston hangs their hat on and are going to look to Hinton to help pick up the scoring load. Hinton is a better shooter than Jarreau and can help fill the void left by the departures of the two guards who were both great shooters. The Cougars will yet again have two players on the floor who can both handle and distribute as well as score. That is a great weapon to have especially if they are looking at another great run.
Brison Gresham
Gresham and Jarreau were a package deal and both committed to Houston. Gresham looks to lock down the paint area of the floor both on offense and on defense. The redshirt junior is extremely efficient making over 70% of his shots last year. Look for that to continue as Gresham doesn’t take shots outside of the painted area on the floor. The center has a chance to turn into an elite rim protector and if he can learn to play without fouling will be a major asset to Houston on the defensive end of the floor.
Fabian White
The junior forward experienced a sophomore swoon. His overall points per game average increased but the rest of his stats decreased. It very well could have been because he was not needed to do nearly as much a season ago as he did his freshman year. The talent and the athleticism make White one of the more intriguing players in the American Conference. He has the potential to be an all-conference and all defensive type of player. The frontcourt minutes are prime for the taking as the main piece in the frontcourt from a year ago has left due to graduation. With the lions share of the minutes Houston is hoping White can take his game to the next step.
Many of the remaining players on the roster very well could start, the four players above are the ones that have the most upside and should start. Coach Sampson has built a deep roster usually built by transfers. If Grimes does not get a waiver, he will be a key piece for the 2020 team but is going to be practicing against the guards and making them much better, while also improving his own game.
Justin Gorham is a junior forward who transferred up from Towson and is eligible to play this season after utilizing his transfer year. He averaged around 10 points per game to go along with 7 rebounds. He is a good offensive rebounder and will get some minutes. How he fits into his role will determine how many minutes he ultimately receives. Cedrick Alley Jr. started half of the games last year and took a lot of three-pointers. While he didn’t make many, less than 30% he has the confidence to shoot them. The Cougars will need his shooting to offset the shooting lost a season ago. Big Man Chris Harris Jr. is going to be a good minute’s eater but does not offer much on the offensive end.
Redshirt freshman Caleb Mills will force his way into the starting lineup by the time conference play opens. Mills is a former top 150 recruit and a 4-star by 247Sports. The point guard will likely start the season as the starter at point guard. Coach Sampson has always favored long and athletic lineups and with Mills, Jarreau and Hinton in the back court it provides a great amount of flexibility with three guards who can handle the ball and all score in several different ways. Houston looks ready to make a deeper run into March than a season ago.
Outlook for Houston
The Cougars experienced one of the best seasons in their school’s history a year ago, and the best season they have seen in Basketball in 34 years. Coach Kelvin Sampson had his named mentioned in a couple of higher-profile jobs, but quickly ended those rumors and showed his commitment to Houston by signing an extension. Not many coaches would be able to build a program with the roster attrition that Houston has endured the last couple of seasons.
As mentioned before this is now the third season in a row in which the Cougars leading scorer is not on the team, with this year being the top two scorers gone. Davis Jr. was one of the four seniors on the roster and graduated. Brooks took his talents to the NBA and elected to stay in the draft. They were the only double-digit scorers for the Cougars a season ago. Houston, with their other senior Galen Robinson took an astronomical number of threes last year. Out of the 939 three-point attempts the Cougars took Davis and Brooks accounted for 606 of them. Coach Sampson is going to have to change the way the Cougars play this year.
When Houston landed Grimes many of the Cougar fans could see a return to the Sampson let it fly offense. Grimes may have been one of the more disappointing freshmen in the country last year, especially given how hyped up he was. One thing he can do is shoot, and he was given the freedom at Kansas to shoot the ball. He made 34% of his three-point attempts a season ago. The transfer currently will not be eligible until the 2020-2021 season, but Houston and their athletic department are going to apply for a waiver to allow the freshman to play early.
If the waiver is granted Houston is going to be able to add one of the highest recruits in the country a season ago, who can shoot. Grimes has a chip on his shoulder and has a ton to prove if he is granted the waiver the Cougars immediately become the team to beat in the American again. Even if Grimes doesn’t get a waiver the Cougars have a great core of players returning and will be at the top of the conference again.