Houston is ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll for its third straight top-10 preseason ranking under coach Kelvin Sampson. The Cougars return four starters and nine lettermen from last season’s team that won the Big 12 Conference regular-season title.
Houston advanced to the NCAA Tournament for a sixth straight season and reached the Sweet 16 for a fifth consecutive year. J’Wan Roberts (graduate, F, 6-8, 9.5 ppg, 6.
8 rpg). Roberts returns for a fifth season after leading the Cougars and ranking sixth in the Big 12 in rebounds last season. He was named to the preseason All-Big 12 First Team after starting 36 games last year.
L.J. Cryer (graduate, G, 6-1, 15.
5 ppg). Cryer is back for a second season at Houston after three at Baylor. He earned preseason All-Big 12 First Team honors after leading the Cougars by averaging 15.
5 points per game last season. He averaged three 3-pointers to lead the Big 12. Emanuel Sharp (junior, G, 6-3, 12.
6 ppg). Sharp ranked third on the team by averaging 12.6 points a game and was second with 1.
5 steals. He played in each of Houston’s 37 games last season and ranked sixth in the Big 12 by averaging 2.2 3-pointers a game.
Though the Cougars return all but one player from last year’s starting lineup, their one loss is a huge one. Jamal Shead, a consensus All-American, is gone after being drafted by the Toronto Raptors. Cryer will move into the point guard role.
Houston added Milos Uzan after the guard spent his first two seasons at .
