# 2014–15 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

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.

## Pre-season
### Departures

| 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 |

### 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 |

### 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: "Houston Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014. "2014 Houston Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014. "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 29, 2014. ||||||

### Injuries

In July, both LJ Rose and Mikhail McLean had foot surgery. Each needed three to four months to recover.

## 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. 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.
| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| 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 (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 31 1:00 pm, ESPNU | at Memphis | L 54–73 | 7–5 (0–1) | FedEx Forum (13,415) Memphis, TN |
| Jan 4 1:00 pm, ESPNews | at Tulsa | L 54–72 | 7–6 (0–2) | Reynolds Center (4,171) 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 (4,368) 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 (9,815) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 24 5:00 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 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 (4,269) Orlando, FL |
| Feb 17 6:00 pm, ESPNews | at South Florida | L 67–69 | 9–16 (1–12) | USF Sun Dome (3,128) 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 (7,023) 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 (2,041) 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. ||||||