Cougars move on with ‘new team’

Coming off a Final Four appearance — part of one of the most successful men’s basketball seasons in school history — the University of Houston wiped the slate clean Friday.

“We have moved on,” coach Kelvin Sampson said as the Cougars opened preseason practice.

Gone are All-American guard Quentin Grimes, guard DeJon Jarreau and forward Justin Gorham from a team that finished 28-4 and reached the national semifinals for the first time since 1984.

“New team,” Sampson said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. You don’t carry over anything that was accomplished from the year before. You start with a new team every year.”

Sampson will build around a pair of veterans, guard Marcus Sasser, who had consecutive 20-point games in the Elite Eight and Final Four, and forward Fabian White Jr., a three-year starter who returned from a knee injury to play down the stretch.

The Cougars also return guard Tramon Mark and forward Reggie Chaney, both of whom started at times.

“We’ve got so many new faces,” Sampson said. “We lost so many important pieces, guys that had been there for a while. You don’t replace the guys we lost with first-year guys. That’s not fair to them. We’ll put our team together and see what we have.”

Along with three incoming freshmen, Sampson restocked his roster through the transfer portal.

UH added Kyler Edwards, a guard with Final Four experience at Texas Tech; Taze Moore, an athletic 6-5 guard who was an All-Big West selection at Cal

State Bakersfield; and 6-11, 240-pound forward/center Josh Carlton from UConn.

Sasser ready for leadership role

After learning from DeJon Jarreau his first two years, junior guard Marcus Sasser is ready to take on a bigger leadership role this season.

“This year, it’s my time to do it,” Sasser said.

Part of that begins on the defensive end. Like Jarreau, Sasser is familiar with the importance of playing defense on any Kelvin Sampson-coached team.

Sasser is assigned to opposing team’s point guard every game.

“There’s no backdown in that kid,” Sampson said. “He’s a tough nut.”

Sasser said Jarreau reminded him a bad shooting game can be offset with an impact on defense.

Maui Invitational moving to Vegas

The 2021 Maui Invitational has been moved to Las Vegas, CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported Friday.

UH is scheduled to compete in the eight-team tournament Nov. 22-24. The rest of the field includes Texas A&M, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Oregon, Butler, Saint Mary’s and Chaminade. The Cougars will open against Butler at 3:30 p.m. CT on Nov. 22.

Mandalay Bay has emerged as a potential host venue, Rothstein reported. There has been no official word from Maui Invitational officials.

This is the second straight year the tournament has been moved due to COVID-19. The tournament was in Asheville, N.C., in 2020.