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LOCATION: Houston, TX
CONFERENCE: Conference USA (National)
LAST SEASON: 10-17 (.370)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-11 (6th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 1/4
NICKNAME: Cougars
COLORS: Scarlet & White
HOMECOURT: Hofheinz Pavilion (8,479)
COACH: Clyde Drexler (Houston '83)
record at school 10-17 (1 year)
career record 10-17 (1 year)
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ASSISTANTS: Reid Gettys (Houston '93)
George Walker (Houston '83)
Reid Martinka (Washington '93)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 9-17-11-9-10
RPI (last 5 years) 219-86-152-224-166
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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A team with two all-league players and four returning starters ought to be
able to challenge for a first-division finish in a division as suspect as
this. So that ought to be what is expected of Houston this season, that it
should make something from the Gee Gervin-Kenny Younger combination and not
just linger at the bottom of the league.
Gervin (20.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 106 assists, 49 steals), a 6-2 senior point
guard, is an amazing talent who led C-USA in scoring. He also was first in
assists (3.93) and three-point percentage (.400). He was chosen first-team
all-conference. Gervin had only two single-figure games in his first season
after transferring from San Jacinto (Texas) Junior College. He played 30
minutes or better in every game but three.
With his quickness and ability to
shoot off the dribble, he is the closest thing to unguardable in C-USA.
Gervin doesn't pay quite as much attention to his defense. Opposing point
guards could not stop Gervin, and he could not stop them. Marquette's
Cordell Henry got 15, Cincinnati's Steve Logan and Alvin Mitchell each
reached double figures and UNCC's Diego Guevara went for 17.
When things weren't going well, Gervin played as if the answer was to shoot
more. In games where he scored 30 or more points, Houston was 0-3.
Interestingly, he scored 25 or more nine times, and the majority of those
were against big-name opponents (such as North Carolina State, Texas,
Cincinnati and New Mexico).
It will be interesting to see how Gervin plays now that he has a veteran
lineup around him and one of the league's most promising rookies, 6-7
freshman forward George Williams of Elkins High in Sugar Land, Texas.
Williams was a consensus top 50 player nationally and was chosen the Texas
5A Player of the Year by the state's coaches.
Williams averaged 18.3 points and was a rebounding machine, getting 15.8 per
game. He is extremely active and athletic and will give the Cougars an
energy their front line lacked last season.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B BENCH/DEPTH C-
FRONTCOURT B- INTANGIBLES C-
It seems possible Houston set some sort of NCAA record by having 13
different players start at least one game last season. That's made all the
more remarkable by the fact that three players (Gee Gervin, Kenny Younger,
and William Stringfellow) started every game.
Stability is not a strength of this program at the moment. In addition to
the players and recruits who are ineligible, Trey Austin and Moses Malone
Jr. transferred out in the last year.
The loss of so many players has hurt this team's depth, but there is enough
talent in Houston's top four players to make a move if all of them remain
healthy through the season. |
It's likely Williams will team with 6-9, 215-pound senior forward Younger
(15.7 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 42 assists, 33 steals), who was chosen third-team
all-league. He put up 11 double-doubles, closed the season with 13
consecutive double-figure scoring games that included a 29-point effort
against Memphis and also showed his versatility by shooting .386 from
three-point range (22 of 57).
The combination of Younger and Williams is as promising as any forward
tandem in the league. Each player has perimeter shooting ability and the
knack for squeezing out rebounds.
Houston might really have been onto something had those two been able to
surround 6-8 William Stringfellow, who averaged 9.6 rebounds last season.
Stringfellow was ruled ineligible during the summer. His place in the lineup
will most likely be taken by redshirt Early Smith, a 6-8, 265-pound senior
who averaged 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds in part-time duty his junior
season.
After transferring from Mississippi State, Smith was the opening-day starter
at center. But after playing 11 minutes and scoring three points, he tore
cartilage in his knee and missed the rest of the year.
Houston lists him as a senior. It is not out of the question, however, that
he could apply to become a sixth-year player because of his injury. With
Smith forced into the starting lineup, and 6-10 center recruit Chris
Anderson ineligible to join the Cougars, frontcourt depth becomes a severe
problem.
The only other players taller than 6-5 are 6-8, 230-pound sophomore
forward/center Jake Ballis (4.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and 6-8, 235-pound junior Tega
Moceanu (1.4 ppg, 0.6 rpg). What do they have in common? They are both
walk-ons.
It worked out better for Ballis, who apparently turned down scholarship
offers at Pepperdine and Hawaii to play for the Cougars. Ballis shot .449
percent from the floor in 24 games, seven of which he started.
Moceanu got in 16 games. He took only 20 shots the entire season. It's
unlikely he will make much of a difference for the Cougars. The starters are
going to have to play a lot.
To go with Gervin in the backcourt, Houston had planned to use 6-4 point
guard recruit Falu, a top 50 prospect who would have freed Gervin to
concentrate entirely on scoring. Falu did not qualify for freshman
eligibility.
Instead, Houston is fortunate to have 6-3 sophomore transfer Bernard Smith,
a former Texas Longhorn, who averaged 5.9 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.1
assists in his one season playing for Tom Penders.
Smith started six games as a freshman and played exclusively at the point.
That means Gervin likely will not have the responsibility of controlling the
offense.
Smith's numbers from his first year don't do justice to what he is capable
of as a shooter. He made 20 of his last 56 shots after a dreadful start that
gave him a .296 long-range percentage for the season. He also played in the
mile-a-minute Texas system, which might have inflated his turnover numbers.
Smith should be a better defender against opposing point guards.
Had Smith not transferred, the Cougars would have been back to 6-1 junior
Treva Crosby (5.0 ppg, 0.7 rpg, .289 3 PT) and 6-5 junior Chad Hendrick (6.2
ppg, 2.8 rpg), neither of whom made substantial progress in his second
season.
Hendrick regressed from a freshman season in which he scored 8.1 points per
game. He shot less often and less accurately from three-point range (23 of
91 to six of 31) and played fewer minutes. He is an excellent athlete who
still needs to be taught how to play; he doesn't have great skills and
doesn't apply what he knows to the game.
Crosby is neither quick enough nor strong enough for Conference USA. He
needs help getting off his shot. But when he gets it, he can make it. Crosby
started the final seven games and had a 16-point effort against UNC
Charlotte in which he was three for six from three-point range. He was six
for 13 in the final three games.
There might be a chance for 6-3 freshman guard Marcus Oliver to win a spot
in the rotation. He was a teammate of high school all-American Jason Parker
at West Charlotte (N.C.) High and helped the team win a state championship.
He averaged 11.8 points and 3.0 rebounds on the season, but increased that
to 17.8 points in the state tournament and was four for eight from
three-point range in the championship game.
Oliver is considered an excellent outside shooter and was his team's
defensive MVP. If he can demonstrate those two qualities early on, there is
playing time available.
To back up Smith at the point, Drexler has 6-1 senior Roy Spears available.
Spears was Houston's regular point guard two season ago when he went down
early with a knee injury. He had trouble getting into the mix upon his
return. He averaged 1.7 points and 1.2 rebounds and played in only 19 games
as Gervin rarely left games.
There also is 5-8 junior transfer Calvin Murphy Jr., who began his career at
Niagara, where he averaged 4.6 points and 3.0 assists in 21 minutes a game,
but struggled from the three-point line (32 of 119, .269). He played in
junior college at Angelina College last season.
Houston's walk-on heavy roster is filled out with 6-1 sophomore guard
Torrence Botts and 6-5 senior guard Derrick Fernandez. Remarkably, Botts
started 12 games and Fernandez started five. Botts shot .296 from the field
and averaged 4.5 points and 1.4 rebounds. Fernandez averaged 4.8 points and
2.8 assists, shooting .474 from the field.
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