NCAA Basketball: Top 25 offseason winners entering 2024-25 season

No. 9 - Houston Cougars: Identity remains the same

Even without its heartbeat Jamal Shead leading the backcourt, expecting the Kelvin Sampson-led Houston Cougars to lose any piece of its tough-as-nails identity would be ill-advised.

Houston’s stubborn, ultra-aggressive, high hands, blitz-all-ball-screens defense has been the hallmark of its success under Sampson. Last season, the Houston Cougars allowed its opponents to score an average of 57.6 PPG -- the lowest average in the entire country. 

With last year’s leading scorer L.J Cryer, Emanuel Sharp, J’Wan Roberts and Ja’Vier Francis still in the fold, there are plenty of returning pieces to keep Houston in the upper echelon of college basketball despite the irreplaceable loss of Jamal Shead. Add in Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan -- who expects to replace Shead at the PG spot -- there is no reason to believe Houston will lose even a fraction of its defensive identity Kelvin Sampson has established over the years.

Houston may not have had the flashiest of offseasons, but that doesn’t make them not noteworthy for joining the offseason winners list. Its consistency with player development, roster continuity and never-changing defensive identity is assuredly what is needed to sustain the high-level success that Houston has achieved over recent years.