Houston basketball coach Kelvin Sampson gets pair of game-changing returns after Sweet 16 run

On Tuesday morning, LJ Cryer, the leading scorer for the Houston team this past season, also announced his decision to return with a photo and the hashtag that reads #ForTheCity.

Houston should be a top-5 team next year 

Suddenly, Houston has two of its top four scorers returning, and that comes on the heels of JaVier Francis and Emanuel Sharp both being expected to return next year, so Houston is loading up with their eyes on a Final Four trip.

Cryer led the team with 15.8 PPG and J’Wan Roberts averaged 9.9 PPG with 7.0 rebounds, so having both of them back for one more year in Houston is a big boost to Kelvin Sampson’s program. Cryer began his career at Baylor for three seasons before transferring to Houston and becoming a huge part of the rotation.

Roberts has spent his entire collegiate career with the Cougars, but the big man recently underwent surgery and has a recovery timeline of four-to-six weeks, per Joseph Duarte.

‘J’Wan Roberts is using walking canes. He had knee surgery a few days ago. He says recovery time is 4-6 weeks.’

Suddenly, the Houston basketball roster looks like one of the best early on for the 2024-2025 season. With the UConn Huskies winning their second right national title on Monday night, way-too-early top-25 rankings came out.

Jon Rothstein even mentioned Houston as the top team in his rankings, which is a huge point for the Cougars looking ahead to next year. And, it would be even better if Jamal Shead decides to run it back for one more year.

Does Jamal Shead return to Houston? 

This is the million-dollar question for the Houston basketball program. Will Shead play one more year? He has one extra year of eligibility due to COVID. He suffered a heartbreaking injury against Duke in the Sweet 16 that ultimately put a nail in the Cougars’ season.

There has been no official announcement yet from Shead, although Sampson’s comments about utilizing the transfer portal certainly hint at Shead leaving for the pros.

“If you are not utilizing the transfer portal today, then you’re getting behind. The portal has been great for us…I’m going to go out on a limb and say we’re going to have a good point guard next season.”

Whether that means Shead will be back or not remains to be seen. Shead was named the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year and spoke on the award and made sure to thank Sampson and his teammates.

If Jamal Shead doesn’t return, he will finish his Houston career on a strong note. Either way, the Houston basketball team will be one of the best in college basketball next season with Cryer and Roberts deciding to return.