The Cougars return four of their five starters from last season, as well as added depth from a number of incoming freshman and transfers, which bodes well for next season. | File photo/The Cougar
In this week’s round table, The Cougar sports staff takes a look at the basketball team. Following a tough debut season for head coach Kelvin Sampson, the Cougars will be looking to improve on a 13-win season, which saw only four conference victories.
Who is one star you see stepping up for the Cougars this season?
Staff writer Adam Coleman: Senior point guard L.J. Rose rising to the occasion this year. Last year, he missed the start of the season due to injury, but if he can stay healthy keep an eye out for him to have a great year. The game is changing; the point guard is becoming more and more important each year. With Sampson wanting to play small ball and space the floor, a good point guard will be vital, and Rose can be that guy.
Staff writer Shardanna Jones: Devonta Pollard. I feel that last year he was still making adjustments and breaking out of his shell. I believe that this season he will be more comfortable, aggressive and hungry.
Staff writer Michael Calderon: Senior forward Devonta Pollard enters the 2015-16 campaign as the Cougars’ top returning scorer with 11.4 points per game. He is a natural fit to step into a bigger role. As one of only three players to rank among the American Athletic Conference’s top-16 leaders in both scoring and rebounding, Pollard is a versatile player with the skills to excel beyond what he has done so far in his career and will be someone that head coach Kevin Sampson can count on down the stretch.
Sports editor Bryce Dodds: I really expect to see Danrad Knowles take his game to another level this season. He came along well both offensively and defensively last season, and if he can add some weight to his frame, his height, athleticism and shooting touch could make him a force for the Cougars.
Assistant sports editor Efren Diosdado: Devonta Pollard finished second among Cougars with 11.4 points per game behind Jherrod Stiggers. With Stiggers leaving and Pollard understanding and having experienced Sampson’s system, I believe he will be the one to step up.
Who is one player you predict to have a break-out year for UH?
AC: I expect transfer Damyean Dotson to have a great season. Dotson is coming over from Oregon and will be playing hungry. The Houston native was a key contributor at Oregon and put up pretty good numbers in a very under-rated Pac-12.
SJ: Point guard Ronnie Johnson. Sampson recruited him for a reason. After sitting out last year, I feel as though he is going to come in and completely change the pace of the game, because he plays fast and has no problem getting into the paint.
MC: Junior forward Danrad Knowles ranked third on the team in both scoring and rebounding last season and proved that he could be a force on the court last year, but only in stretches. If dominate performances like the one he had in the first game against Tulane last year, where he scored a career-high 31 points, can be more of his norm than the exception, then Knowles can take his game to the next level.
BD: Senior Eric Weary will step up big time. Last season, he was outstanding as a spark off the bench, with pretty good shooting, the ability to drive and the skill to keep the ball alive with his rebounding skills. He can be big for UH. I love his hard work and the way he never gives up on the play, which is exactly what Sampson needs in his offense.
ED: Freshman Galen Robinson. I don’t think he’ll start, but when his number is called, he will perform well and add depth to the Cougars bench.
How much do you think the loss of Jherrod Stiggers affects the Cougars’ offense?
AC: Anytime you lose your leading scorer, you could expect your offense to take a step back. But, I don’t expect it to be as big of a hit as people might think. Sampson is an accomplished coach and he knows how to handle these situations. With three of their top four scorers returning, Sampson with another year in the program and the new additions, don’t be surprised if the offense takes a step forward by the end of the year.
SJ: I can see who plays at center, who plays forward, who plays point guard, but I can’t quite tell just yet who is going to step up in Stiggers’ place. Eric Weary had some great games, he does more than shoot, but he wasn’t as high a scorer as Stiggers.
MC: Whenever a player of Stiggers caliber leaves a team there will be a void left behind. The key will be players like Bertrand Nkali and Pollard taking over the team and playing the kind of team-ball that Sampson wants. Truthfully though, even with Stiggers last year, the team struggled much of the season, so improving was always on the younger players behind him anyway.
BD: Losing your leading scorer is tough, but with the influx of talent and Ronnie Johnson able to play this year, the Cougars should be able to make up for the loss. It remains to be seen if the Cougars will have anyone who can create their own shot as well as Stiggers could though.
ED: Stiggers was a huge part of the Cougars offense, averaging 14.2 points per game. With the addition of Purdue transfer Ronnie Johnson who averaged 10.8 points in 2014 and Damyean Dotson who averaged 11.4 points in Oregon, I don’t think it will affect the Cougars offense much this season.
How do you foresee UH doing in-conference this season?
AC: The Cougars went 4-14 in conference play last year, so you can’t go anywhere but up. Houston was in a lot of those games and a bounce here or there, or a few less mistakes and they could have easily been above .500. Another year under the Sampson regime and I think they’ll be more crisp down the stretch, and I can see them winning around 10 games in the AAC. That number may be higher depending on how quickly the new additions gel with the team.
SJ: I feel like Houston will be true competition in the American Athletic Conference. They have no problem beating UCONN, Tulsa finished second in the conference and UH was up by seven on them in the second half when they played them. Three of the team’s last four wins were all conference games. They have depth and talent now. They’re competition.
MC: After going 4-14 against their AAC rivals, the Coogs can only improve, and I believe that they will. In Sampson’s second season, the Cougars should take a big step forward, continuing the 4-1 turnaround that they closed out the season with. Though they may not make a run at a conference title, I can easily see UH finishing two to three games behind with something like a 13-5 or 12-6 record.
BD: The American Athletic Conference is a good conference, with several perennial conference teams and a few more coming up. Despite the lackluster performance in-conference last season, I think the Cougars can be the 4th of 5th best team in the AAC, but a lot of the success hinges on who is running the point in the high-paced offense, and early-season success to build confidence.
ED: With Coach Sampson going into his second year coaching for UH and having players like Danrad Knowles and Devonta Pollard that understand his system and having a better idea of what to expect, the ceiling is high. You add in the two transfers in with Dotson and Johnson and I think this team can finish 23-9 this season.
