2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Conference American Athletic Conference
2013–14 record 17–16 (8–10 The American)
Head coach James Dickey
Assistant coach Alvin Brooks
Assistant coach Johnny Estelle
Assistant coach Ronnie Hamilton
Home arena Hofheinz Pavilion
2013–14 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#5 Louisville 15 3   .833     31 6   .838
#15 Cincinnati 15 3   .833     27 7   .794
#18 Connecticut 12 6   .667     32 8   .800
SMU 12 6   .667     27 10   .730
Memphis 12 6   .667     24 10   .706
Houston 8 10   .444     17 16   .515
Rutgers 5 13   .278     12 21   .364
UCF 4 14   .222     13 18   .419
Temple 4 14   .222     9 22   .290
South Florida 3 15   .167     12 20   .375
The American Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the first for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The team, coached by James Dickey in his fourth year, played their home games at Hofheinz Pavilion. They finished the season 17–16, 8–10 in conference play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the The American Tournament where they lost to Louisville.

After the season, head coach James Dickey stepped down for personal reasons.[1] He was 64–62 in four seasons. He was replaced by Kelvin Sampson.

Pre-season

Unfortunately, the Cougars’ off-season was defined primarily by the amount of departures from the program. On May 14, it was announced that the school granted permission to sophomore point guard J.J. Thompson to transfer to another school. No reason was given as to his desire to leave the Cougars.[2] Ten days later, the school announced that four-star 2012 class recruit Valentine Izundu was also granted release from the program. Like Thompson, no reason why given for Izundu’s departure, but it was noted that the freshman saw very limited playing time in his only season with the team.[3] However, one month after announcing his leave, Valentine decided to return to the program. In his statement, he apologized to Coach Dickey and teammates and mentioned that he made a mistake in leaving the team.[4] On June 1, the program announced that Michael Young, former Cougar player and Phi Slama Jama member during the 1980-84 seasons, would not be retained as Director of Basketball Operations. Young was offered a reassignment in the program, but refused it and decided to leave the school. As a result, Michael’s son Joseph Young, the Cougar’s leading scorer during the 2012-13 season decided to leave the program as well[5] and transfer to Oregon.[6]

Despite the number of departures from the program, the Cougars were still able to build on the team by signing Ohio Player of the Year and three-star recruit Jaaron Simmons. The point guard out of Archbishop Alter High School signed a National Letter of Intent on April 18, choosing the Cougars over offers from Butler and Dayton, among others.[7] Simmons mentioned that the opportunity to play with standout players Danuel House, Joseph Young, and TaShawn Thomas helped in his decision to sign with Houston.[8] Former Baylor guard L.J. Rose announced in June that he would transfer to Houston to be closer to his mother who was diagnosed with lupus. Rose was ranked 63rd in the ESPN100 Class of 2012 and the 9th ranked guard. The Cougars applied for a waiver to the NCAA to allow L.J. to play for the team immediately. It was announced on August 20 that the waiver had been granted.[9] The third offseason addition to the Cougars came in the form of 6'9" Egyptian-born post player Ahmed Hamdy. Ahmed's resume features international experience at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship with the Egyptian national team.[10]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Young, JosephJoseph Young 0 G 6'3" 185 Sophomore Houston, Texas Left program when father Michael was not retained as Director of Basketball Operations;
transferred to Oregon
Thompson, J.J.J.J. Thompson 3 G 6'0" 185 Sophomore Irving, Texas Granted release to transfer to another school
Gibson, LeonLeon Gibson 15 F 6'9" 245 Senior Los Angeles, California Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Rose, L.J.L.J. Rose G 6'4" 190 Sophomore Houston, Texas Transferred from Baylor

Class of 2013 signees

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jaaron Simmons
PG
Kettering, OH Archbishop Alter HS 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Mar 31, 2013 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 78
Ahmed Hamdy
C
Alexandria, Egypt Trent Internationale (Sugar Land, TX) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jun 20, 2013 
Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Knowles, DanradDanrad Knowles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS So Houston, Texas
F 1 McLean, MikhailMikhail McLean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Houston, Texas
G 2 Morris, BrandonBrandon Morris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Alexandria, Louisiana
G 3 Simmons, JaaronJaaron Simmons 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Dayton, Ohio
G 4 Barnes, LeRonLeRon Barnes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Stonewall, Louisiana
G 5 Rose, L.J.L.J. Rose 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Houston, Texas
G 12 Jones, JimmyJimmy Jones 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Sr Plano, Texas
G 14 Womack, TioneTione Womack 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Baltimore, Maryland
F 20 Drexler, AdamAdam Drexler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Houston, Texas
G 21 Stiggers, JherrodJherrod Stiggers 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Terrell, Texas
G 23 House, DanuelDanuel House 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Sugar Land, Texas
G 24 Paye, LawrenceLawrence Paye 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Houston, Texas
C 25 Hamdy, AhmedAhmed Hamdy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Alexandria, Egypt
F 35 Thomas, TaShawnTaShawn Thomas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Killeen, Texas
C 45 Izundu, ValentineValentine Izundu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Houston, Texas
F 55 Richardson, J.J.J.J. Richardson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Sr Missouri City, Texas
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2013-11-17

Schedule and results

On May 21 it was announced that the Cougars would participate as one of the four hosts in the 2013 Legends Classic alongside Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Texas Tech. Houston hosted a pair of regional round games between November 17–21, and then traveled to Brooklyn to participate in the championship round with the other four hosts on November 25–26 at the Barclays Center.[11]

The Cougars' complete 2013-14 schedule was announced on August 21 featuring 17 home games. The schedule's highlights included round-robin play against the other nine American Athletic Conference members, the 4 previously-announced Legends Classic games, a road game against former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M, and a neutral site matchup against crosstown rival Rice at the Toyota Center. All of Houston's 18 conference games and the two final games of the Legends Classic tournament were televised on the ESPN family of networks or CBS Sports Network.[12]

Date
Time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
Nov 5*
7:00 pm
St. Thomas W 81–63 
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,435)
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
Nov 8*
8:00 pm, ESPN3
Texas State W 76–70  1–0
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,123)
Houston, TX
Nov 11*
7:00 pm
at Texas–Pan American W 77–65  2–0
UTPA Fieldhouse (1,432)
Edinburg, TX
Nov 14*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
UTSA W 80–62  3–0
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,800)
Houston, TX
Nov 17*
1:00 pm, ESPN3
Lehigh
Legends Classic - Houston Regional Game 1
W 80–66  4–0
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,635)
Houston, TX
Nov 21*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Howard
Legends Classic - Houston Regional Game 2
W 75–62  5–0
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,815)
Houston, TX
Nov 25*
8:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. Stanford
Legends Classic - Semifinals
L 76–86  5–1
Barclays Center (4,142)
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 26*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Texas Tech
Legends Classic - Consolation Game
L 64–76  5–2
Barclays Center (3,514)
Brooklyn, NY
Nov 30*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi W 78–67  6–2
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,015)
Houston, TX
Dec 4*
7:00 pm, ESPN3/FSN
at Texas A&M L 57–74  6–3
Reed Arena (4,850)
College Station, TX
Dec 7*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
San Jose State L 68–72  6–4
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,105)
Houston, TX
Dec 9*
6:30 pm, ESPN3
Alcorn State W 89–58  7–4
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,833)
Houston, TX
Dec 14*
7:05 pm
at Louisiana–Lafayette L 76–79 OT 7–5
Cajundome (3,069)
Lafayette, LA
Dec 21*
3:30 pm, CSS/CSNH
vs. Rice
Lone Star Showcase
W 54–52  8–5
Toyota Center (5,907)
Houston, TX
American Athletic Conference regular season
Dec 31
8:00 pm, ESPN2
#17 Connecticut W 75–71  9–5 (1–0)
Hofheinz Pavilion (4,035)
Houston, TX
Jan 4
3:00 pm, CBSSN
at South Florida W 67–58   10–5 (2–0)
USF Sun Dome (3,921)
Tampa, FL
Jan 7
8:00 pm, CBSSN
Cincinnati L 60–61  10–6 (2–1)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,804)
Houston, TX
Jan 16
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at #18 Louisville L 52–91  10–7 (2–2)
KFC Yum! Center (21,132)
Louisville, KY
Jan 19
12:00 pm, CBSSN
Rutgers W 77–55  11–7 (3–2)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,115)
Houston, TX
Jan 23
7:00 pm, ESPNews
at #23 Memphis L 59–82  11–8 (3–3)
FedEx Forum (15,702)
Memphis, TN
Jan 26
2:00 pm, ESPNews
SMU L 68–75  11–9 (3–4)
Hofheinz Pavilion (4,567)
Houston, TX
Jan 30
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Connecticut L 43–80  11–10 (3–5)
Gampel Pavilion (9,312)
Storrs, CT
Feb 1
3:30 pm, ESPNews
at Rutgers L 70–93  11–11 (3–6)
The RAC (5,616)
Piscataway, NJ
Feb 5
8:00 pm, ESPNU
#14 Louisville L 62–77  11–12 (3–7)
Hofheinz Pavilion (7,247)
Houston, TX
Feb 9
1:00 pm, ESPNews
Temple W 88–74  12–12 (4–7)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,535)
Houston, TX
Feb 15
2:00 pm, ESPNU
at #10 Cincinnati L 62–73  12–13 (4–8)
Fifth Third Arena (13,176)
Cincinnati, OH
Feb 19
7:00 pm, ESPNews
at SMU L 64–68  12–14 (4–9)
Moody Coliseum (6,991)
Dallas, TX
Feb 22
1:00 pm, ESPNews
UCF W 88–84  13–14 (5–9)
Hofheinz Pavilion (7,028)
Houston, TX
Feb 27
8:00 pm, CBSSN
#21 Memphis W 77–68  14–14 (6–9)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,628)
Houston, TX
Mar 1
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Temple W 89–79  15–14 (7–9)
Liacouras Center (3,978)
Philadelphia, PA
Mar 4
7:30 pm, ESPNews
South Florida W 79–68  16–14 (8–9)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,235)
Houston, TX
Mar 7
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at UCF L 83–104  16–15 (8–10)
CFE Arena (5,471)
Orlando, FL
American Athletic Conference Tournament
Mar 13
12:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. #25 SMU
Quarterfinals
W 68–64  17–15
FedEx Forum (13,011)
Memphis, TN
Mar 14
6:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. #5 Louisville
Semifinals
L 65–94  17–16
FedEx Forum (11,888)
Memphis, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

External links

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