NCAA Basketball: Preseason Top-25 power rankings for 2020-21 season
. Cougars . 25. team. 450. .
There were three big losses on the roster for the Cougars this offseason. The first was Nate Hinton‘s early departure to the NBA Draft. The second was Chris Harris, a 6’10 center who started 20 games and averaged 4.9 rpg.
His absence wouldn’t have meant as much for the Cougars until the unfortunate offseason injury suffered by forward Fabian White Jr. The 6’7 frontcourt player averaged 9.3 ppg and 5.5 rpg last season but won’t be available until 2021-22 with a torn ACL. The team didn’t have much frontcourt depth to begin with, forcing them to look elsewhere in the transfer portal.
"Even with those interior questions, a program with an upper-echelon head coach, quality guard play, and a clear identity on both ends of the floor is as safe a bet as any in this unpredictable campaign. Expectations for Houston should be nothing less than a third straight conference championship in 2020-21. – Brian Foley (@briandfoley)"
Houston was able to find someone this offseason in Reggie Chaney, a junior forward from Arkansas who averaged 4.3 ppg and 3.8 rpg in two seasons. The 6’8 big man will get more playing time at his new stop and will be tasked with providing defense and rebounding.
Regardless of who starts inside, the majority of the offensive production will come from outside. Leading scorer Caleb Mills is back, along with Quentin Grimes, Marcus Sasser, and Dejon Jarreau.
Cam Tyson joins the rotation after sitting out last season as a transfer from Idaho. The 6’3 guard averaged 13.5 ppg and made 43% of his three-point shots. That doesn’t even include four-star freshman guard Tramon Mark, who will be a future impact piece for the Cougars.
I’d say that a lack of frontcourt depth is the clear weakness for Houston but that hasn’t affected them in the past couple of years. It does still put pressure on the guards to not only score but contribute on the boards and on the defensive end in potential mismatches. If they can do that, they’ll find a way to win the AAC.