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2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
| 2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball |
|---|
| American Athletic Conference |
| 13–19 (4–14 The American) |
| Kelvin Sampson (1st season) |
| Alvin Brooks |
| Talvin Hester |
| Kellen Sampson |
| Hofheinz Pavilion |
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 and second as members of the 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.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Morris | 2 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | Alexandria, Louisiana | Graduated |
| Jaaron Simmons | 3 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Freshman | Dayton, Ohio | Requested release to move closer to home; transferred to Ohio |
| Jimmy Jones | 12 | G | 5'10" | 160 | Senior | Plano, Texas | Graduated |
| Tione Womack | 14 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Senior | Baltimore, Maryland | Graduated |
| Danuel House | 23 | G | 6'7" | 195 | Sophomore | Sugar Land, Texas | Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Texas A&M |
| Lawrence Paye | 24 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Senior | Houston, Texas | Graduated |
| TaShawn Thomas | 35 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Junior | Killeen, Texas | Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Oklahoma |
| Valentine Izundu | 45 | C | 6'10" | 215 | Sophomore | Houston, Texas | Requested release after resignation of former head coach James Dickey; transferred to Washington St. |
| J.J. Richardson | 55 | F | 6'8" | 245 | Senior | Missouri City, Texas | Graduated |
| 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. |
| 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 |
| Name | Hometown | School | 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 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| Egi Gjikondi PF | Boston, MA | San Jacinto College | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 14, 2014 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| Torian Graham SG | Marianna, FL | Chipola Junior College | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 20, 2014 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| Bertrand Nkali PF | Baytown, TX | Lee College | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | May 16, 2014 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| Devonta Pollard SF | De Kalb, MS | East Mississippi CC | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 21, 2014 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| J.C. Washington PF | Houston, TX | Yates HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Nov 22, 2013 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (73) | |||||
| Eric Weary SG | New Orleans, LA | Howard College | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Apr 21, 2014 |
| Recruit ratings: Scout: Rivals: (NR) | |||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Scout: NR Rivals: NR ESPN: NR | |||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: |
"2014 Houston Basketball Commitment List". Scout. "ESPN". ESPN. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals. | | | | | |
In July, both LJ Rose and Mikhail McLean had foot surgery. Each needed three to four months to recover.
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. On July 18, the team announced participation in the championship pairings of the 2014 Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic, alongside Boise State, Texas Tech, and Loyola–Chicago at the Orleans Arena. Two on-campus games preceded the Las Vegas-hosted games, with one at South Carolina State. In August, ESPN reported that Houston's visit to Harvard for a game on November 25. The remainder of the Cougars' schedule was announced by the American Athletic Conference on August 28.
| Datetime, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 8*12:00 pm | North Alabama | W 108–83 | – | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, TX | |
| Nov 14*7:00 pm | at Murray State | W 77–74 | 1–0 | CFSB Center (5,056)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 (1,423)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 (N/A)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 311:00 pm, ESPNU | at Memphis | L 54–73 | 7–5 (0–1) | FedEx Forum (13,415)Memphis, TN | |
| Jan 41:00 pm, ESPNews | at Tulsa | L 54–72 | 7–6 (0–2) | Reynolds Center (4,171)Tulsa, OK | |
| Jan 66:00 pm, ESPNews | UCF | L 78–79 OT | 7–7 (0–3) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,003)Houston, TX | |
| Jan 113:00 pm, CBSSN | Memphis | L 44–62 | 7–8 (0–4) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,697)Houston, TX | |
| Jan 146:00 pm, ESPNU | at East Carolina | L 61–66 | 7–9 (0–5) | Minges Coliseum (4,368)Greenville, NC | |
| Jan 1711:00 am, ESPNews | Tulane | L 65–68 | 7–10 (0–6) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,547)Houston, TX | |
| Jan 216:00 pm, ESPNews | at Cincinnati | L 54–67 | 7–11 (0–7) | Fifth Third Arena (9,815)Cincinnati, OH | |
| Jan 245:00 pm, CBSSN | at SMU | L 59–80 | 7–12 (0–8) | Moody Coliseum (7,094)Dallas, TX | |
| Jan 28*7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Rice | W 59–48 | 8–12 | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,465)Houston, TX | |
| Feb 12:00 pm, CBSSN | UConn | W 60–58 | 9–12 (1–8) | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,498)Houston, TX | |
| Feb 56:00 pm, ESPNews | Tulsa | L 44–57 | 9–13 (1–9) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,847)Houston, TX | |
| Feb 128:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 SMU | L 69–75 | 9–14 (1–10) | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,315)Houston, TX | |
| Feb 151:00 pm, ESPN3 | at UCF | L 54–56 | 9–15 (1–11) | CFE Arena (4,269)Orlando, FL | |
| Feb 176:00 pm, ESPNews | at South Florida | L 67–69 | 9–16 (1–12) | USF Sun Dome (3,128)Tampa, FL | |
| Feb 218:30 pm, ESPNU | Cincinnati | L 53–63 | 9–17 (1–13) | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,562)Houston, TX | |
| Feb 266:00 pm, CBSSN | at Temple | L 54–66 | 9–18 (1–14) | Liacouras Center (7,023)Philadelphia, PA | |
| Mar 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | South Florida | W 72–55 | 10–18 (2–14) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,816)Houston, TX | |
| Mar 47:00 pm, ESPNews | at Tulane | W 68–63 OT | 11–18 (3–14) | Devlin Fieldhouse (2,041)New Orleans, LA | |
| Mar 81:00 pm, ESPNews | East Carolina | W 72–54 | 12–18 (4–14) | Hofheinz Pavilion (2,879)Houston, TX | |
| Mar 125:00 pm, ESPNews | vs. Tulane First Round | W 66–60 | 13–18 | XL Center Hartford, CT | |
| Mar 137:00 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. |
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