Sophomore guard Marcus Sasser had a career-high 28 points in Houston’s win over Tulane | Courtesy of UH athletics
The only thing that could stop sophomore guard Marcus Sasser in Houston’s Saturday afternoon contest against Tulane was the bench.
The 6-foot-1-inch sophomore out of Red Oak was the definition of a walking bucket, connecting on six of his seven 3-point attempts in the first half.
“I feel the basket gets bigger and bigger every time I see the ball go in,” Sasser said. “It just gives me more confidence.”
Sasser nearly outscored the entire Tulane team by himself in the first half with his 20 points.
Sasser connected twice more from downtown in the second half to set the Fertitta Center record for most 3-pointers made by a player in a game with eight.
It comes as no surprise that Sasser set this record since sharpshooting runs deep in the Sasser family. Sasser’s father also played college ball.
Sasser’s uncles, Jason and Jeryl Sasser, also played college ball. Jason Sasser was the 1996 Southwest Conference Player of the Year at Texas Tech and had a brief stint in the NBA. Jeryl Sasser was the 1999 Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year at SMU and also briefly played in the NBA before moving to Europe to play professionally.
According to the Cougars’ guard, the title of best shooter in the family is a tossup between Jeryl and his own father. He gave the nod to his father on Saturday, but during the game, it belonged to No. 0 for UH.
The youngest Sasser credits his dad and uncles for helping him develop his 3-point shot and recalls all the times he and his family spent hours shooting in the backyard.
“We used to play 3-point shootout a lot,” he said. “My family is real competitive.”
After the game, UH head coach Kelvin Sampson said it came to no surprise to him that Marcus Sasser had a breakout game shooting from deep because of how well he shoots in practice.
Sampson has coached many great shooters during his seven years at UH, and Marcus Sasser is the latest member of this list.
“When (Marcus Sasser) is on, he’s like Corey Davis, Armoni Brooks, Damyean Dotson,” head coach Kelvin Sampson told reporters after the game. “We’ve had some gifted that have come through here over the years and Marcus is right in that class with those guys.”
