Senior guard Corey Davis Jr. is the Cougars’ leading scorer but has had some cold performances, too. | Kathryn Lenihan/The Daily Cougar
The Cougars men’s basketball team is having a historic season and leading the American Athletic Conference with an 18-1 record.
The team’s lineup of good shooters, rebounders and defenders have brought it to the top of the conference and the No. 17 spot in the AP poll and Coaches poll.
Of course, basketball is a team effort, but three of our writers made their picks for Most Valuable Player so far this season.
Staff Writer Brayley Crowe
Junior guard Armoni Brooks has emerged as the most crucial player for the Cougars’ success this season.
Brooks is second on the team this season in points per game with 14.3 and leads the team in rebounds per game with 6.5.
He is an incredibly efficient offensive player, as he averages nearly 40 percent from the field and 38 percent from three.
Brooks’ status as MVP this season stems from his importance in crucial games for Houston.
In Houston’s prominent win over then-No. 18 Oregon, Brooks recorded a team-high 22 points, including draining six of 13 three-point attempts.
Inversely, in UH’s lone loss this season at Temple, Brooks only scored five points, his second-lowest this season, while shooting 16.7 percent from the field.
The team is quite balanced, but the Cougars’ worst performances come when Brooks is having a bad game, so his level of success is most critical to Houston.
Staff Writer Jhair Romero
Houston has proven to have several valuable players on its roster, but no one does more for the Cougars on offense than senior guard Corey Davis Jr.
Davis Jr. has transformed into a star player for the Cougars, taking over the vacancy left by the now-graduated guard Rob Gray in the UH offense.
His 15.2 points per game average so far in 2018-2019 is a step up from his 13.1 last season, and he has done it in roughly the same amount of minutes per game.
The Louisiana-native is also on track to surpass his 458-point total from last year. He has tallied 289 points through 19 games with 12 left to play.
Davis Jr. taking over as an offensive leader has greatly improved this team, and without him on the court there is no nationally-ranked Houston Cougars basketball team
Staff Writer Samuel Loveday
Senior guard Galen Robinson Jr. has been the Cougars’ most valuable asset. He has averaged 37 percent accuracy from three and 43.5 percent from the field as an afterthought.
Surprisingly, these averages are not his greatest assets since he looks for the assist first, along with multiple steals a game to fuel his team.
He fills the team’s role of facilitator to utilize his teammates’ strengths on offense, but if he has an open shot he won’t hesitate to make it.
His game is very similar to that of NBA guard Rajon Rondo. The only difference is that Robinson Jr. makes a majority of his shots.
This being said, Robinson Jr. has been playing at MVP levels, making his team more efficient while being able to put the ball in the bucket when the game demands it.
