2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . It was their first season under head coach Kelvin Sampson [ 1] American Athletic Conference . The Cougars’ home arena was the on-campus Hofheinz Pavilion . Their record was 13–19, and 4–14 in conference play to finish in tenth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 American Conference tournament , where they lost to Tulsa.
Pre-season
Departures
Returnees
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Danrad Knowles 0
F 6'10" 195
Sophomore Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 31 games as a freshman with 10 starts. Two-time American Rookie of the Week. Third on the team in rebounding. Averaged 7.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game on 47% shooting.
Mikhail McLean 1
F 6'8" 205
Senior Nassau, Bahamas Competed in 28 games as a junior with 16 starts. Averaged 2.6 points and 1.8 rebounds per game on 49% shooting.
LeRon Barnes 4
G 6'6" 190
Junior Stonewall, Louisiana Competed in 30 games as a sophomore with 15 starts. Averaged 3.2 points and 2.5 rebounds on 39% shooting.
L.J. Rose 5
G 6'4" 190
Junior Houston, Texas Competed in 28 games as a sophomore with 25 starts. Led the American Conference in assists at 5.5 per game. Finished 11th in the conference at 77.8% from the free throw line. Scored 8.5 points with 2.5 rebounds per game on 40% shooting.
Adam Drexler 20
F 6'5" 205
Junior Houston, Texas Redshirted last season after transferring from Loyola Marymount.
Jherrod Stiggers 21
G 6'5" 210
Junior Terrell, Texas Competed in 33 games as a sophomore with 9 starts. Finished as the third leading scorer with 11.2 points per game. Ranked 3rd in the American Conference with 2.4 three-pointers per game. Also averaged 2.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 39% shooting.
Incoming transfers
Name
Number
Pos.
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
Notes
Ronnie Johnson G 5'10" 160
Sophomore Indianapolis, Indiana
Transferred from Purdue ; will sit out the 2014–15 season[ 6]
Class of 2014 signees
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Cavon Baker PG
Queens, NY
Lee College
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
Apr 30, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Egi Gjikondi PF
Boston, MA
San Jacinto College
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
May 14, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Torian Graham SG
Marianna, FL
Chipola Junior College
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Apr 20, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Bertrand Nkali PF
Baytown, TX
Lee College
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
May 16, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Devonta Pollard SF
De Kalb, MS
East Mississippi CC
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
May 21, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
J.C. Washington PF
Houston, TX
Yates HS
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Nov 22, 2013
Star ratings :Scout :Rivals :247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: 73
Eric Weary SG
New Orleans, LA
Howard College
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Apr 21, 2014
Star ratings :Scout : N/A Rivals : N/A 247Sports : N/A ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : NR Rivals : NR ESPN : NR
Note : In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:
Injuries
In July, both LJ Rose and Mikhail McLean had foot surgery. Each needed three to four months to recover.[ 7]
Roster
2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
F 0
Danrad Knowles 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg)
RS So
Nassau, Bahamas
F 1
Mikhail McLean 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Sr
Nassau, Bahamas
G 3
Cavon Baker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg)
Jr
Queens, NY
G 4
LeRon Barnes 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg)
RS Jr
Stonewall, LA
G 5
L. J. Rose 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
Houston, TX
F 11
J.C. Washington 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg)
Fr
Houston, TX
G 12
Wes VanBeck (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
Fr
Houston, TX
F 13
Bertrand Nkali 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg)
RS So
Bertoua, Cameroon
G 3
Ronnie Johnson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg)
RS So
Indianapolis, IN
F 20
Adam Drexler (W)
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg)
Jr
Houston, TX
G 21
Jherrod Stiggers 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg)
Jr
Terrell, TX
G 23
Eric Weary Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg)
Jr
New Orleans, LA
F 24
Devonta Pollard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg)
Jr
Porterville, MS
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on Roster
Schedule and results
On May 28, the American Athletic Conference announced the format and opponents for the 2014–15 conference schedule. Due to an odd number of conference members and maintaining an 18-game schedule, each team played 8 opponents twice (home and away) and two opponents once (1 home, 1 away). UConn (home) and Temple (away) were the two teams the Cougars played just once this season.[ 8] Boise State , Texas Tech , and Loyola–Chicago at the Orleans Arena. Two on-campus games preceded the Las Vegas-hosted games,[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] [ 12]
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance)
Exhibition
Nov 8 *12:00 pm
North Alabama W 108–83 –
Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX
Regular season
Nov 14 *7:00 pm
at Murray State
W 77–74 1–0
CFSB Center Murray, KY
Nov 22 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Morgan State W 72–57 2–0
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,058)Houston, TX
Nov 25 *6:00 pm
at Harvard
L 63–84 2–1
Lavietes Pavilion Cambridge, MA
Dec 4 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Texas–Pan American W 72–58 3–1
Hofheinz Pavilion (1,858)Houston, TX
Dec 6 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Abilene Christian W 71–59 4–1
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,007)Houston, TX
Dec 16 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Houston Baptist W 83–76 5–1
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,016)Houston, TX
Dec 17 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Arkansas–Pine Bluff Las Vegas Classic regional round L 56–61 5–2
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,082)Houston, TX
Dec 20 *1:00 pm, ESPN3
South Carolina State Las Vegas Classic regional round L 63–71 5–3
Hofheinz Pavilion (1,996)Houston, TX
Dec 22 *9:30pm
vs. Boise State Las Vegas Classic semifinals L 73–75 OT
5–4
Orleans Arena Paradise, NV
Dec 23 *8:00 pm, FS1
vs. Texas Tech Las Vegas Classic 3rd place game W 82–69 6–4
Orleans Arena (N/A)Paradise, NV
Dec 28 *4:00 pm, ESPN3
Mississippi Valley State W 80–53 7–4
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,147)Houston, TX
Dec 31 1:00 pm, ESPNU
at Memphis
L 54–73 7–5 (0–1)
FedEx Forum Memphis, TN
Jan 4 1:00 pm, ESPNews
at Tulsa
L 54–72 7–6 (0–2)
Reynolds Center Tulsa, OK
Jan 6 6:00 pm, ESPNews
UCF L 78–79 OT
7–7 (0–3)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,003)Houston, TX
Jan 11 3:00 pm, CBSSN
Memphis L 44–62 7–8 (0–4)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,697)Houston, TX
Jan 14 6:00 pm, ESPNU
at East Carolina
L 61–66 7–9 (0–5)
Minges Coliseum Greenville, NC
Jan 17 11:00 am, ESPNews
Tulane L 65–68 7–10 (0–6)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,547)Houston, TX
Jan 21 6:00 pm, ESPNews
at Cincinnati
L 54–67 7–11 (0–7)
Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH
Jan 24 5:00 pm, CBSSN
at SMU
L 59–80 7–12 (0–8)
Moody Coliseum Dallas, TX
Jan 28 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Rice W 59–48 8–12
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,465)Houston, TX
Feb 1 2:00 pm, CBSSN
UConn W 60–58 9–12 (1–8)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,498)Houston, TX
Feb 5 6:00 pm, ESPNews
Tulsa L 44–57 9–13 (1–9)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,847)Houston, TX
Feb 12 8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 25 SMU
L 69–75 9–14 (1–10)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,315)Houston, TX
Feb 15 1:00 pm, ESPN3
at UCF
L 54–56 9–15 (1–11)
CFE Arena Orlando, FL
Feb 17 6:00 pm, ESPNews
at South Florida
L 67–69 9–16 (1–12)
USF Sun Dome Tampa, FL
Feb 21 8:30 pm, ESPNU
Cincinnati L 53–63 9–17 (1–13)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,562)Houston, TX
Feb 26 6:00 pm, CBSSN
at Temple
L 54–66 9–18 (1–14)
Liacouras Center Philadelphia, PA
Mar 1 2:00 pm, ESPN3
South Florida W 72–55 10–18 (2–14)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,816)Houston, TX
Mar 4 7:00 pm, ESPNews
at Tulane
W 68–63 OT
11–18 (3–14)
Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA
Mar 8 1:00 pm, ESPNews
East Carolina W 72–54 12–18 (4–14)
Hofheinz Pavilion (2,879)Houston, TX
American Athletic Conference
Tournament
Mar 12 5:00 pm, ESPNews
vs. Tulane First Round W 66–60 13–18
XL Center Hartford, CT
Mar 13 7:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Tulsa Quarterfinal L 51–59 13–19
XL Center Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time .
References
^ Cougars hire Kelvin Sampson , ESPN.com, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Houston Freshman PG Jaaron Simmons Transfers To Ohio , SB Nation, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Former UH guard Danuel House transfers to A&M , Houston Chronicle, retrieved 1 June 2014^ Former UH basketball player Thomas heading to Oklahoma , Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Valentine Izundu granted release from UH basketball team , Houston Chronicle, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Purdue transfer Ronnie Johnson lands at Houston , CBS Sports, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Surgeries Not Expected to Make McLean, Rose Miss Any Games , Chron.com, retrieved 16 August 2014^ 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule Format Announced , TheAmerican.org, retrieved 29 May 2014^ Men's Basketball to Compete at Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic , UHCougars.com, retrieved 23 June 2014^ SC State Men's Basketball Releases 2014-15 Schedule , retrieved 16 August 2014^ Harvard Hoops Schedule in Focus , retrieved 16 August 2014^ American Athletic Conference Announces 2014-15 Men's Basketball Schedule , TheAmerican.org, retrieved 30 August 2014
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
