I might have underrated Houston a bit during the first few months of the offseason. The Cougars do lose All-American Quentin Grimes and do-it-all guard DeJon Jarreau, in addition to all-league forward Justin Gorham, but they might have upgraded on a couple of those departures. Texas Tech transfer Kyler Edwardsshould be one of the best guards in the AAC after averaging double-figures in each of the last two seasons for the Red Raiders. He shot nearly 42% from 3-point range last season and also dished out around three assists the last two seasons. In Gorhamâs place will be Fabian White, who averaged 9.3 points and 5.5 rebounds in 2019-20 before missing most of last season with an ACL injury. Kelvin Sampson also added UConn transfer Josh Carlton to provide interior depth; heâs one of the best offensive rebounders in the country, which fits the Cougars perfectly. The loss of Grimes will hurt, but the Cougars are going to be elite defensively and on the glass, and there will still be enough scoring on the roster.
I think Reggie Chaney may surprise some folks this year. He really started ramping up toward the end of the season last year. Of course, this year heâll be competing with Carlton for minutes instead of Gresham, but I wouldnât be surprised to see Chaney average 7/7.
Houstonâs quest to return to the top of the AAC standings (after finishing second to Wichita State last season) got much more difficult after Memphisâ additions this month, but the Cougars have enough players of their own to stake their claim as league favorite. Kelvin Sampson is 5-1 against the Tigers since Penny Hardaway took over in 2018, with four of those six games being decided by three points or fewer. Both matchups last season went down to the final minute, with Houstonâs Tramon Mark hitting a half-court buzzer-beater to win the first meeting and Justin Gorham scoring six points in the final 72 seconds to knock Memphis out of the AAC tournament by two points in the second matchup.
This season will see a contrast in styles between the two teams. We mentioned Memphisâ size earlier, while Houstonâs offensive production will primarily come from its perimeter players. Marcus Sasser and Mark return, while Kyler Edwards is known from his time at Texas Tech. Cal State Bakersfield transfer Taze Mooremight be flying under the radar; he was a first-team All-Big West performer and brings size, versatility and outstanding defensive ability.
Projected starting lineup:
Marcus Sasser (13.5 PPG)
Tramon Mark (8.0 PPG)
Kyler Edwards (10.1 PPG at Texas Tech) Fabian White Jr. (6.3 PPG) Reggie Chaney (4.6 PPG)
Memphis at 7. Fair enough with all the hype of recent signings. I donât like rooting for Penny or Memphis but I do like to see 2 top 10 AAC teams going against each other when we play them.
Somewhere in the archives is the simple refrain I posted when tourney time is here and all the speculation sways back and forth. Just win, baby. And we did, despite the brainiacs on the web and on tv.
What separated us last year from most tournament teams was our depth. When the starters went out there was literally no drop off with the second unit. In fact, sometimes the bench players played better than the starters and sparked a run.
I think the success of this years teams will depend on well Taz Moore plays and how fast the freshman Walker adjusts to Div 1 basketball. Walker looked good on film but heâs a true freshman. Iâm also curious to see who steps up to replace Gorham as the high energy guy that dives on the floor for loose balls. Then again, I said the same thing to myself after Nate Hinton left for the pros. This is where I trust the coaches. No doubt will be back in the tournament again yes
We had production on the bench but cannot say we were super deep and there wasnât a drop off. We had a chance to have that type of depth with Mills but he wasnât ready to go then left.
This team has that depth. If we find a go-to scorer off the ball to go with Sasser this team can be scary great. Looking so forward to seeing Mark and Edwards together. I have no concerns with Sasser.
Our defense off the bench could be sensational. Hoping one or both of Shead and Moore provides a little punch so we can play them together for long stretches.
I even feel good if Armbrester or Walker are forced into early action.
Then there is the deep and veteran front court player lead by future all conference player Fabian White. Exciting times!
Matthew killed us in the final four. But I agree, there was a drop off, especially with mark, Roberts, Tyson, Shead, and powell all seeing their first action at this level. And the Covid year hurt them a lot, the less games, practices, shorter off season, and no scrimmages. A lot of freshman looked worse than usually last year. Now with Carlton and Taze being 5th year guys. Shead, powell, and Roberts all have another year under their belts. Robbie and Walker getting a full off season, games, practices, and scrimmages. Our bench will be full of starting caliber players.
Shead
Taze
Robbie
Roberts
Carlton
Ramon
Francis
Powell
