Houston Basketball: Why Milos Uzan is the most important team transfer for 2024-25

Suffice to say, things are going well for Houston in recent years. Kelvin Sampson has truly transformed and built this program over the last decade, with the Cougars fresh off a regular season title in their very first season in the Big 12. This Houston team wasted no time adjusting to their new surroundings and even advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for yet another extended postseason run.

An injury to Jamal Shead doomed the Cougars during that Sweet Sixteen game and now they’ll have to live without him, as the superstar guard is off to the NBA. Fortunately, much of the talent from this rotation returns, aside from Damian Dunn who transferred a few months ago. The Cougars get additional seasons out of four of their five starters, led by LJ Cryer and Emanuel Sharp.

It’s truly rare in this current era of college basketball for the Cougars to be bringing back as much talent from one year to the next, though that’s not the only thing unusual about this squad. Due to limited openings, Sampson and his staff barely had to raid the Transfer Portal, meaning today’s focus is actually on their one and only significant addition from another school.

That lone addition comes in the form of Milos Uzan, a former Top 100 prospect from Las Vegas who spent the first two seasons of his career at Oklahoma. Already quite familiar with the Big 12, he’s fresh off a decent yet underwhelming sophomore season in which he averaged 9.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. His shooting numbers dipped in year two of college ball, but could that change in these new surroundings?

The young point guard fills a definite role with Houston, as these Cougars have recently had a revolving door of elite backcourt weapons. No one expects Uzan to become Marcus Sasser or the next Shead from the minute he arrived on campus, but he’s got the talent and skill to take the next step forward in that development. Plus it’s hard to find a better place to develop those skills than with Sampson and this staff.

Obviously the focus has to be on Uzan because he’s the lone addition, but he fits in well with what’s already accumulated on the roster. Again, he’s not going to mimic Shead’s production, but if his defense takes a step forward and he regains his shot (having made 40% of his 3-pointers as a freshman), then he can be the next menace in this Houston backcourt. Even if that doesn’t happen this year, both Cryer and Sharp are more than capable of getting the job done.

Much was expected from Uzan entering his sophomore season with the Sooners and he didn’t exactly live up to those expectations. Will things be different as an upperclassman at Houston with all the experience he now has? It’ll be interesting to see if this is another elite season for the Cougars and what role Uzan plays in that quest.