Incoming freshman forward Jarace Walker from IMG Academy is one of the most highly-anticipated commits the program has seen and is expected to make an instant impact for the Cougars during the 2022-23 season. | Courtesy of UH Athletics
Big-time additions to UH men’s basketball program have the Cougars entering the upcoming college basketball season as NCAA title-contenders for the 2023 Final Four, that will take place in Houston.
With seniors Fabian White Jr., Kyler Edwards, Josh Carlton and Taze Moore moving on to their professional careers, UH looks to new faces such as ESPN Top-100 recruits Jarace Walker and Terrance Arceneaux, among others, to fill the holes and compliment the returing Cougars.
Here’s a look at some of the new talent that will take the hardwood for UH in the 2022-23 season:
Jarace Walker
Arguably the highest-anticipated Cougar commit since Danuel House back in 2012, Jarace Walker ranked No. 10 overall and first amongst power-forwards on the ESPN’s Top-100 recruits of 2022 list.
The former IMG Academy attendee and New Freedom, Pennsylvania native is a 6’7″ forward and expected to make an instant impact for the Cougars in the upcoming season after officially committing to UH over schools including North Carolina, Auburn, LSU and more.
Walker averaged 16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game all while starting 23 of 24 games his senior year and was named to the 2022 Naismith National High School Boys Basketball All-American second team as well as the McDonalds All-American team.
The five-star recruit will bring both size and speed as well as athleticism to the Cougars’ roster and with the accolades he enters his collegiate career with, expectations will be exceptionally high for the incoming freshman.
Terrance Arceneaux
Incoming freshman Terrance Arceneaux is yet another ESPN Top-100 recruit UH was able to land over the offseason, ranking right at No. 66 on the list and is also one of the top-recruits the program has landed.
Arceneaux is a 6’6″ forward from Beaumont, Texas and is coming fresh off averaging 15.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists his senior year and 20.9 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists as a junior.
The McDonalds All-American nominee is an explosive athlete who brings intensity on both sides of the ball, he averaged 2.2 steals and 3.2 blocks per game his senior year and 2.5 steals and 4.0 blocks per game as a junior, posing as a defensive threat as well for UH.
Though on a smaller scale, Arceneaux is another incoming Cougar who will have high-expectations and will be expected to produce early on, his numbers and style of play offer a number of ways he can be implemented into the game plans of UH.
Emmanuel Sharpe
Despite being a member of the Cougars a season ago, redshirt-freshman Emmanuel Sharpe’s play was unseen during the 2021-22 season due to a leg injury that was still being nursed from high school.
Now fully-recovered, Sharpe will make his official UH debut in 2022.
Sharpe is a 6’3 guard out of Tampa, Florida who is a former four-star recruit and like Walker and Arceneaux, Sharpe too was an ESPN Top-100 athlete in 2021 after ranking right at No. 60 on the list.
As a sophomore in high school, Sharpe was fourth in the state of Florida and 20th nationally in scoring after averaging 31.9 points per game to go with 3.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.5 steals per game.
He followed it with another impressive junior year, averaging 24.7 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and marked the end of his high school campaign due to the said leg injury sustained during his senior year.
Sharpe is a pure scorer who will likely impact the game primarily off the bench, but expectations will still be high nonetheless especially after with his collegiate debut coming later than it was supposed to.
Mylik Wilson
Mylik Wilson is another addition UH has made since the 2021-22 season’s end. Wilson is a 6’3″ guard who the Cougars acquired through the transfer portal from Texas Tech during the offseason.
The senior former Red Raider averaged 2.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while averaging just over 15 minutes per game during the 2021-22, but to see the upside of this acquisition you would have to journey back a year further.
During the 2020-21 season, Wilson played over twice as many minutes, averaging right above 33 per game and had a more formidable role in the Red Raiders game plan. At that point in time he posted averages of 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and a pair of steals per game.
Although the significant drop in numbers is questionable, Wilson did happen to sustain a knee injury that kept him sidelined for some time back in December of the 2021-22 season and eventually led him to get lost in rotation amongst the rising guards of Tech.
Though offensive production is in question, Wilson is an athletic guard who can block shots and defend well and will likely fit right in with the Cougar’s culture as a role player.
