Houston Cougars Basketball

East Carolina handed No. 5 Houston only its second men's basketball loss of the season with a 82-73 upset Wednesday.

Jayden Gardner led the way for the Pirates (8-6) with 21 points, 14 rebounds and four assists, his seventh double-double of the season. The team also shot 11-of-24 from three-point range at home in Williams Arena, keying the first win over a Top 10 opponent in program history, per the ESPN broadcast.

ECU trailed by three at halftime but the defense picked up in the second half, allowing the hosts to build a double-digit lead with just over five minutes left. The Cougars couldn't keep up and never led over the final 19 minutes of the game.

Houston (15-2) entered the day with eight straight wins, the last six by double digits, but stumbled on the road against a team that had five straight losses to fall into last place in the American Athletic Conference.

Many criticized Houston after the shocking loss:

East Carolina had struggled in all phases over the past few weeks but especially shooting, making just 13 three-pointers in the last three games. Its 31.9 percent three-point shooting this season ranked 245th in the country.

You wouldn't know it was the case Wednesday as the Pirates seemingly couldn't miss from deep. They shot 7-of-14 from three in the first half and kept it going throughout the night.

Tremont Robinson-White was especially impressive while making five of his six threes, while Bitumba Baruti and J.J. Miles were also valuable from the perimeter.

Things weren't as smooth for Quentin Grimes, Houston's leading scorer who shot just 2-of-10 from the field on his way to seven points.

DeJon Jarreau helped pick up the slack offensively with 25 points, his best scoring output since transferring to Houston three years ago. Marcus Sasser also had a strong showing (17 points) while Justin Gorham posted a double-double, but it wasn't enough to help the Top Five team get into the win column.

This loss could have lasting effects for a team with high expectations this year:

Houston is currently No. 4 in the NET rankings but has just three Quadrant 1 victories and now two losses outside of the first tier. The squad should get a chance to recover with a tuneup game against Our Lady of the Lake, an NAIA school in San Antonio, on Saturday.

For East Carolina, this win could potentially turn things around after some early struggles in the conference. The team will try to keep the momentum when it faces Memphis on Saturday.

No. 5 Houston is undefeated no more.

Unranked Tulsa (5-3, 2-1 AAC) toppled the Cougars 65-64 thanks to free throws from Brandon Rachal with 0.1 seconds left in regulation. Houston (7-1, 2-1 AAC) held a 64-63 lead with 10 seconds remaining after Caleb Mills sank a jumper, but Rachal drew the foul just before the clock expired, giving him a chance to at least tie the game.

Instead, he sank both free throws to win it.

The Cougars were coming off a 63-54 victory at UCF that was a bit too close for comfort until the end as the Knights trailed by just six with under 2:30 to play. Yet the top-ranked program was able to escape with a late run and some clutch foul shooting.

That wasn't the case Tuesday.

After racing out to an early 11-point lead, Houston struggled to create any separation from Tulsa for the rest of the night.

Rachal, a senior from Louisiana, kept the Golden Hurricane alive with 22 points and eight rebounds. Only one other player for Tulsa scored more than seven points as Curtis Haywood II added nine off the bench.

Quentin Grimes led Houston with 19 points, seven rebounds and four assists in the loss.

The Cougars' road trip continues Sunday as they travel to SMU (5-0, 1-0) before returning home to face Wichita State (4-2, 2-0). Meanwhile, Tulsa heads to Cincinnati (2-5, 0-2) on Saturday to try taking advantage of a Bearcats team that's struggled to find many wins this year.

Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau was issued a flagrant-2 technical foul and ejected in the second half of his team's 64-62 loss to the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday.

He was ejected for biting Cincinnati's Keith Williams on the calf as they went for a loose ball (h/t Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle):

According to Justin Williams of The Athletic, Williams and teammate Mamoudou Diarra said Jarreau bit them during the game. Jarreau finished with five points, six assists and four rebounds.

After the game, however, Houston coach Kelvin Sampson denied Jarreau bit Williams, per ESPN's Jeff Borzello:

"There was no bite. There was an alleged bite. Somebody says somebody bit, and they go to the line. I just watched the film. I watched it three times to make sure I was right, too. If you watch it once, you might be wrong. I watched it twice. I watched it three times. I had my staff look at it. There was no bite. There should have been a jump ball. It's our ball. Our possession. And we should have had the ball on the side."

It was particularly ill-timed for Houston, seeing how the team was nursing a two-point lead with less than seven minutes remaining and was undermanned in the backcourt for the stretch run on the road. 

Houston was in control for much of the contest and took a 10-point lead into intermission. However, the Bearcats gradually climbed back into it and took their first lead of the second half with less than three minutes remaining on a Williams layup. The Cougars still had a chance to force overtime when Cedrick Alley Jr. grabbed an offensive rebound in the waning seconds, but Caleb Mills missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Jarron Cumberland led the way for the victors with 17 points, seven assists, three rebounds and two blocks.

While the biting incident overshadowed portions of the game, it was a key win for the Bearcats as they look to get off the bubble and into the NCAA men's tournament. They improved to 14-7 overall and 7-2 in the American Athletic Conference with the win over the 21st-ranked Cougars. 

Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller did not include Cincinnati in his latest projected bracket, although that was before it earned an impressive win Saturday.

Houston Cougars guard Quentin Grimes has been ruled eligible to play by the NCAA for the 2019-20 season after transferring from the Kansas Jayhawks in the offseason, according to multiple reports. 

Suffice to say, Grimes and his teammates were excited to learn the news on Tuesday:

"I'm really happy for Quentin and his family," head coach Kelvin Sampson said following the news, per Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle. "I thank the NCAA for approving his waiver. We've got a lot of work to do, a long way to go, and we look forward to getting after it."

Grimes, 19, averaged 8.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game with the Jayhawks last season, shooting 38.4 percent from the field and 34 percent from three. He started 36 games for Kansas, though his season ended in disappointment when Kansas was knocked out in the second round of the NCAA tournament by Auburn (granted, the Tigers did reach the championship game). 

Grimes initially declared for the NBA draft and attended the NBA Scouting Combine, but later pulled his name from consideration, choosing to return to college basketball. In June, however, he announced he was transferring from Kansas to Houston. 

It's a big get for the Cougars, especially now that his eligibility for the upcoming season is assured. He was a 5-star recruit coming out of high school, the No. 10 player overall in the Class of 2019 and the No. 2 combo guard, per 247Sports' Composite Rankings.

And Houston appears like a team to be reckoned with this upcoming season with Grimes in the backcourt:

It's a good day down in Houston, in other words.

After withdrawing his name from the 2019 NBA draft, Quentin Grimes will play college basketball for the Houston Cougars beginning with the 2020-21 season. 

Per Fox 26's Mark Berman, Grimes announced his decision to transfer to the Cougars on Thursday.

Grimes has had a whirlwind couple of months since the end of his freshman season at Kansas. He was one of four Jayhawks players to declare for this year's NBA draft. 

An inconsistent first year in college certainly hurt Grimes' stock heading to the pros. The Texas native arrived in Lawrence with high expectations as a 5-star prospect and No. 10 overall recruit in the 2018 class, per 247Sports. 

In 36 games with the Jayhawks, Grimes averaged just 8.4 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 38.4 percent from the field. Head coach Bill Self announced Grimes entered the transfer portal after going through the predraft process and decided to return to college. 

Grimes told reporters during the NBA scouting combine he was keeping all of his options open before making any formal announcement about his plans:

No decision yet for ⁦@qdotgrimes⁩. Tried to get him to say something critical of @CoachBillSelf. Didn’t happen. All love. ⁦@KUHoops⁩ pic.twitter.com/dE0ceJtFrd

— Mark Carman (@thecarm) May 16, 2019

It was hardly a surprise to see Grimes go back to school to refine his game. B/R's Jonathan Wasserman didn't have him ranked among the top 50 draft prospects following the scouting combine. 

The only downside for Grimes is transferring will force him to sit out for a year before he's able to get back on the court. He will be 20 years old when the 2020-21 season begins. 

Despite the long wait to return to competitive action, the Cougars will provide Grimes with an opportunity to showcase his talent in a way he didn't feel was going to happen at Kansas. He's still a young man loaded with potential. 

If Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson is able to work with Grimes and unlock his talent, Houston will have a potential superstar on its hands for at least one season.   

The University of Houston and head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson reached an agreement Thursday on a six-year contract extension.  

Houston announced the deal after Joseph Duarte of Houston Chronicle first reported the agreement, noting the contract is believed to be worth $18 million.

The announcement follows rumors about Sampson potentially leaving the Cougars to take over the Arkansas Razorbacks program. Sampson made it clear he's not looking to go anywhere else, per Duarte: 

Sampson also noted that his son, Kellen, will be the head coach in waiting, per Duarte.

The 63-year-old North Carolina native led Houston to a 33-4 record and a Sweet 16 appearance in the 2019 NCAA tournament before a season-ending loss to the Kentucky Wildcats on Friday.

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He's guided to Cougars to a 116-52 mark across five years since he left his role as an assistant with the NBA's Houston Rockets to rejoin the college coaching ranks in 2014.

Sampson previously served as head coach of the Montana Tech Orediggers (NAIA), Washington State Cougars, Oklahoma Sooners and Indiana Hoosiers during a career on the sideline that spans four decades. He owns a 541-279 record at the Division I level.

The two-time reigning American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year joked about the Arkansas speculation when asked during March Madness about a possible move before next season.

"I'm not going to talk about my contract situation," he told reporters. "My response to—what school was it? I was just joking. I didn't know if you said Arizona or Arkansas or Alaska or—yeah. Been a lot of those schools over the years. I don't really have a response to it. I don't know what I'm supposed to respond to, you know. There's nothing to respond to."

His extension will force the Hogs to continue their search to replace Mike Anderson, who they fired last month after an 18-16 campaign.

Meanwhile, Sampson's reported $3 million base salary would be tied for 21st among college basketball coaches, according to the USA Today database.

With his contract situation settled, Sampson can now focus on bolstering a 65th-ranked recruiting class to help fill the void left by seniors Corey Davis Jr. and Galen Robinson Jr., two of the team's top four scorers.

Alton Ford, a former basketball player at the University of Houston, died on Tuesday at the age of 36.

Per an announcement from the school, Ford had cancer:

Ford appeared in 26 games at Houston during the 2000-01 season. He ranked third on the team with 10.8 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. 

After declaring for the 2001 NBA draft, Ford was selected 51st overall by the Phoenix Suns. The Texas native played parts of three seasons in the NBA, appearing in 73 games with the Suns and Houston Rockets from 2001-04.

Ford most recently played parts of two seasons in the NBA G League in 2008-09 with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and Reno Bighorns and in 2010-11 with the Erie BayHawks. 

Houston head basketball coach Kelvin Sampson led a fundraising drive for victims of Hurricane Harvey, asking fellow coaches on Twitter to send shoes and shirts to those affected by the storm and its subsequent flooding, according to Larry Seward of KHOU.com.

But the NCAA's rules had left Houston in risk of punishment if it gave those shoes and shirts away. Now, according to associate athletics director Lauren Dubois (via CBS Sports' Gary Parrish), the school has been granted permission to give the donations out in local school districts. 

"They don't want us sending all this nice gear to the top recruit in Houston," Dubois initially told Seward. "But obviously that is not our intention at all."

"Dubois said the program risks punishment if they give anything to potential recruits, their parents or youth leagues," Seward wrote. "So, the university first offered everything to the Red Cross, Star of Hope and Hurricane Harvey relief. All had different needs."

The university asked other charities to take the donations and give them away so it could remain in compliance with NCAA regulations. Despite those complications, however, Sampson avoided public frustration.

"When you do something out of the goodness of your heart, when you have so many people around you helping, it's not hard," he told Seward.

The university's drive is just one example of the various athletes and sports organizations in the region joining the recovery effort in Houston. Most notably, the Texans' J.J. Watt has helped raise over $30 million in his Houston Flood Relief Fund.

In the early 1980s, "Phi Slama Jama" became part of the college basketball lexicon as the Houston Cougars reached three straight Final Fours.

In ESPN's next entry in the 30 for 30 series, director Chip Rives will detail the program's return to prominence and failure to win a national championship in the documentary Phi Slama Jama. The program will air Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

As the 1970s ended, it looked like Houston was beginning to stagnate under head coach Guy V. Lewis. With Elvin Hayes leading the way, the Cougars made the national semifinals in 1967 and 1968. A little over a decade later, with the end of the 1979-80 season, the school missed out on the NCAA tournament altogether for the sixth time in seven years.

Things began to turn around when Houston native Clyde Drexler arrived ahead of the 1980-81 season, with Hakeem Olajuwon coming the following year. They joined a talented core that also featured Robert Williams and Larry Micheaux, who were freshmen on the Cougars team that went 14-14 in 1979-80.

In 1981-82, Houston won 25 games and lost to the eventual national champion North Carolina Tar Heels in the Final Four. The following season, another school from the Tar Heel State, the North Carolina State Wolfpack, beat the Cougars in one of the most memorable moments in NCAA tournament history.

Disappointment followed the next year as well, with Houston falling to the Patrick Ewing-led Georgetown Hoyas.

Olajuwon left for the NBA in 1984, and the Cougars' chances of contending for a national championship left with him. They won 30 games over the next two years, and Lewis retired in 1986.

Much like the Michigan Wolverines' Fab Five, the early-'80s Houston teams are perhaps remembered most for the impact they left on the game rather than their inability to reach the college basketball summit. The Cougars were anointed Phi Slama Jama for their flashy style and thunderous dunks.

At the time, the slam dunk was a much smaller part of the college game. The NCAA banned the dunk in 1967, which was dubbed the "Lew Alcindor Rule" after the UCLA Bruins star dominated underneath the basket. Watching a team like Houston attack the rim so relentlessly was a refreshing experience for fans.

"We strived for dunks," center Greg Anderson said, according the Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte. "If we get out on the break, we're running for a dunk."

In an April interview with Vice Sports' Larry Burnett, Drexler explained the genesis of the team's unique approach:

It was a whole new breed! Guy Lewis, our coach, envisioned it. Then he had to get the players who could play that style of basketball. Guy Lewis was all about efficiency. He was a great motivator. He got real talent and taught his players how he wanted them to play: hard and aggressive!

"Don't give up anything defensively. Offensively, we are going to be efficient. We are not going to shoot bad shots. I'd rather see you just go up and dunk it as much as you can."

That's where it became Phi Slama Jama. We were working on efficiency. We were not trying to be flashy. We were trying to score points.

Julius Erving and Darryl Dawkins were two of the most prominent dunkers of the 1970s and 1980s, and their exploits were entertaining fans well before the Phi Slama Jama Houston teams. The Cougars, however, were one of the first examples of a collective unit utilizing the dunk to devastating effect.

"I think we were right at the turning point the way the game changed and evolved into the game it is today," forward Michael Young said, per Duarte.

Especially for younger fans, the documentary Phi Slama Jama will be a great look back at one of the pioneers for the way basketball is played today.

For Houston fans, it will be an opportunity to reminisce about happier times. After the Cougars lost in the 1984 national championship, they have reached the NCAA tournament on four occasions, losing in the first round each time.

Current head coach Kelvin Sampson appears to have the program headed in the right direction. Houston won 13 games in his first season and then 22 last year en route to a first-round exit in the NIT.

Of course, a return to the halcyon days of Phi Slama Jama will almost certainly never happen for the Cougars, which makes those early-1980s teams all the more special.

Basketball team raises needed funds

By CODY DALTON
cody@southwesttimes.com


DUBLIN – Saturday’s “Lady Cougar Basket Bingo” was a success for the girl’s basketball program at Pulaski County High School. 35 people attended the event, which raised $1,678 dollars for the Lady Cougar basketball program.

The Lady Cougar Basketball Boosters extends a thank you to all of the sponsors and businesses for helping to contribute to a successful fundraiser. Many used the event to cope with the ongoing round of snow storms that have been going on. Kathy Whitaker drove all the way from Galax to participate and have a good time playing with family.

“It’s a great way to get out from the cabin fever,” Whitaker said. “It’s going towards a good cause and you get to take your prizes home. We love it. This is what we do. We go far and wide to bingo. Not just bingo, but basket bingo.”

Sally Quesenberry came to the event to enjoy compete for the Longaberger baskets, play bingo, and support the team.

“I like Longaberger baskets and I like to play bingo,” Quesenberry said. “It helps that it is going towards a good cause.”

Jayvee coach Tiffany Payne, who helped organize the event, was pleased with the end result, but was mindful of what the turnout could have been after delaying the initial event due to weather.

“We had a good turnout,” Payne said. “The only thing that hurt us when it came to the amount of money we could have brought in was that we had to cancel it once. If we could have had it on the original day, I think we could have had a better turn out. With the people we had here, it has been great. It’s been a lot of fun and a lot of hard work.”

Among the bingo winners were Brenda Riggins (twice), Nicholas Chaffin (twice), Kevin Thomas, Stacy Whitaker, Frances Kemeny (twice), Kathy Whitaker, Linda Boadwine, Jamie Rasmussen (three times), Amy Myers, Tiffany Payne, Mike King (twice), Gayle Duncan, Carli Brewer (twice), Susan Holcomb, and Faith Chrisley.

Winning door prizes were Carli Brewer, Mike King (twice), Kathy Whitaker, Jamie Rasmussen, Brenda Riggins (twice), Peggy Dalton, Lori King, Shannon Honaker, Debbie Fogarty, Kelli Duncan, Susan Holcomb (twice), Linda Boadwine, Stacy Whitaker, Keith Thomas, Faith Chrisley (twice), Jordan Chrisley, and Rhonda Chrisley.

The Boosters have another event scheduled this month, as they will be conducting a fundraiser at Wendy’s on Feb. 25. Fifteen percent of everything sold from 5-8 p.m. in either the drive-thru or dine-in will be given to the Booster Association.

“A lot of the other programs that have done that made $600 or more,” said Eddie Wright, President of the Lady Cougar Basketball Association. “Wendy’s in Dublin has been really good about helping all of the programs.”

With the success of the Basket Bingo, Payne has plans in place to make the bingo a permanent staple and fundraiser for the team.

“I really think we are going to try to do some more of these,” Payne said. “Hopefully the next time we have one of these, we won’t have to cancel and reschedule it.”