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Houston Basketball: 3 things that Marcus Sasser should focus on in 2021-22

By Caleb Hightower

Jan 31, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 31, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Cougars guard Marcus Sasser (0) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Fertitta Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Houston Basketball Marcus Sasser DeJon Jarreau Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Houston Basketball Marcus Sasser DeJon Jarreau Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /

Getting others involved

As I mentioned in the previous slide, Sasser averaged 13.7 points per game last season and scored 20+ points on more than one occasion, which is one of the main reasons why Houston was able to find success in 2020-21. However, scoring is just one aspect of the game, and as a guard that will probably have the ball in his hands a lot in year 3, Sasser should prioritize trying to average more than just 2.2 assists per game in 2021-22 (which is what he averaged last season).

Listen, I understand that Sasser is a scoring guard who knows how to put the ball in the basket at a high level, but expanding his game will allow him to become a more well-rounded offensive player for the Cougars. So, how should Sasser go about upping his number of assists per game in 2021-22?

Well, at this stage of Sasser’s career I am sure that he understands that even though he has the ability to get-a-leg-up on his original defenders and get into the lane, he’s not the greatest athlete and hasn’t proven that he is a legitimate threat to rise up and punch one home at the rim on someone’s head.

As a result of this, many rim protectors/opposing big men aren’t afraid to challenge him when he decides to elevate at the basket (which leads to a decent number of misses around the rim). So with that being said, Sasser should focus more on making life easier for himself by drawing opposing bigs and finding guys like Reggie Chaney and Fabian White Jr. down low.

Obviously, if Sasser feels like he can get the ball up on the rim before opposing bigs can track it down, he should maximize those opportunities (which is what he was able to do last season), but if they are prepared to meet Sasser at the rim, he should put his big men in position to catch the ball cleanly on either block and explode up in one smooth motion.

Additionally, Sasser could rack up more assists in 2021-22 by hitting guards on the perimeter for open threes after forcing help. Kyler Edwards and Taze Moore are two guys that are more than capable of stepping into triples and knocking them down at a high clip (Edwards shot 41.8% from three-point land last season while Moore shot 51.4%), which means that Sasser shouldn’t hesitate to kick the ball out to them after racing past his initial defenders and getting stopped in his tracks by help defenders.