Don’t expect 3s with ease this year
Lacking usual long-range options, Sampson envisions basket-attacking style taking hold
The last time the University of Houston was on the basketball court, Armoni Brooks went on a 3-point tear to almost single-handedly lead a comeback against Kentucky that would have sent the Cougars into the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
It has been a common occurrence in recent years for the Cougars to step back and drain 3-pointers from every spot on the court. College basketball’s version of the “Splash Brothers,” with Brooks, Damyean Dotson, Rob Gray Jr. and Corey Davis Jr., made UH one of the most dangerous and catch-fire-in-a-hurry shooting teams in the nation.
In the past two seasons, the Cougars have put on a clinic with 16, 17 and 18 (twice) 3s in a single game.
Get ready for a different brand of basketball as the Cougars open the season with Saturday’s exhibition against Angelo State at Fertitta Center.
“This is a brand-new team,” coach Kelvin Sampson said. “Every team is different. This is my sixth team, and I don’t think this team has a whole lot in common offensively with some of the past teams.”
The biggest difference is the absence of what Sampson calls a “sniper,” a player able to take control and hit long-range shots almost at will. In each of the last three seasons, the Cougars produced at least one player with 100 or more 3s: Dotson (108) in 2016-17, Davis (103) in 2017-18, and Brooks (121) and Davis (111) in 2018-19, when the Cougars drained 333 total. Brooks was sixth nationally in 3s last season.
“This is the first time we don’t have what I call a sniper,” Sampson said. “(Dotson) was a sniper. Wes VanBeck was a sniper. Armoni was a sniper. Corey was a sniper. Rob was just a killer.”
UH was caught off-guard in the offseason by Brooks’ 11thhour decision to keep his name in the NBA draft (he was not selected). That gave the Cougars no chance to find a replacement, although the open spot allowed them to sign sophomore guard Quentin Grimes, a Kansas transfer who played every game as a true freshman last season.
“We didn’t plan on Armoni not being here,” Sampson said. “Kind of like Target or Walmart — they have that blue light special at 6 o’clock, and you show up at 9. There ain’t a whole lot left in those bins now. That’s kind of where we were in June. Who’s out there? There ain’t no Armoni out there — let’s get that straight. There were no Armonis out there in April, either. Guys like him that can shoot it like he did don’t come along very often.”
Cedrick Alley Jr., the Cougars’ do-everything forward, is the top returning 3-point shooter (31 makes), followed by Nate Hinton (28). Cameron Tyson, an Idaho transfer who made 106 3s, is sitting out this season.
“Everybody that is capable of 3s, we all work hard every day,” Hinton said. “Our players are tough. Maybe sometimes in practice they may not fall in, but we’re working on it every day before and after practice. It just may not be the volume (from the past).”
Instead of having his team light it up from long range, Sampson said the Cougars’ DNA will rely on attacking guards and more athletic frontcourt players. The guard rotation will include De’Jon Jarreau, Caleb Mills, Marcus Sasser, Hinton and Grimes.
“A lot of our lineups will surprise some people the way we play those guards,” Sampson said.
As luck would have it, the NCAA moved the 3-point line
this season, taking it from 20 feet, 9 inches to the international distance of 22 feet, 1¾ inches. It’s a good bet the Cougars will come nowhere close to the 939 3-pointers they attempted last season.
“It would have had zero impact on last year’s team,” Sampson said. “Moving that line back 10 inches or 15 inches wouldn’t have mattered to Armoni or Corey, because they are good shooters. They are not guys that shoot it; they are guys that make it. There’s a big difference. We don’t have those kinds of guys on this team. That’s not the makeup of this team. Our strength won’t be 3-point shooting. I’m not sure it would have been a strength on our team had the line not changed.”
All that means, Sampson said, is the Cougars will need to find a different identity — which begins with defense and rebounding — as they prepare to defend the American Athletic Conference title.
“Every team is going to have its strength,” he said. “The key to having a great season is to play to your strengths and play away from what you are not good at.”