2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2013–14 Houston Cougars Houston Cougars logo.svg 150 American Athletic Conference The American 17–16 8–10 James Dickey 4th Alvin Brooks Johnny Estelle Ronnie Hamilton Hofheinz Pavilion The 2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the first for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The team, coached by James Dickey in his fourth year, played their home games at Hofheinz Pavilion. They finished the season 17–16, 8–10 in conference play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the American Conference tournament where they lost to Louisville. After the season, Dickey stepped down for personal reasons.http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24466354/hirings-and-firings-2014-college-basketball-coaching-changes Hirings and firings: 2014 college basketball coaching changes 2014-04-14 2014-04-12 https://web.archive.org/web/20140412070455/http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24466354/hirings-and-firings-2014-college-basketball-coaching-changes dead He was 64–62 in four seasons, and was replaced by Kelvin Sampson. Pre-season The Cougars' off-season had been defined primarily by the number of departures from the program. On May 14, the school announced that it had granted permission to sophomore point guard J. J. Thompson to transfer to another school. No reason was given.J.J. Thompson leaving UH basketball program, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 2 June 2013 Ten days later, the school announced that four-star 2012 class recruit Valentine Izundu was also granted release from the program. Like Thompson, no reason why given for Izundu's departure, but it was noted that he had seen very limited playing time in his previous season as a freshman.Lamar Consolidated center to transfer from UH, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 2 June 2013. However, one month after announcing his leave, Izundu decided to return. In his statement, he apologized to Coach Dickey and teammates and mentioned that he made a mistake in leaving the team.Izundu decides to return to UH, Houston Chronicle, retrieved 25 August 2013. On June 1, the program announced that Michael Young, former Cougar player and Phi Slama Jama member during the 1980–84 seasons, would not be retained as Director of Basketball Operations. Young was offered a reassignment in the program, but refused it and decided to leave the school. As a result, his son Joe Young, the Cougars' leading scorer during the 2012–13 season also decided to leave the programHouston leading scorer Joseph Young, and father Michael, leaving the program, NBC Sports, retrieved 2 June 2013 and transfer to Oregon.Oregon lands guard Joseph Young, ESPN.com, retrieved 25 August 2013 Despite the departures, the Cougars were still able to build by signing Ohio Player of the Year and three-star recruit Jaaron Simmons. The point guard out of Archbishop Alter High School signed a national letter of intent on April 18, choosing the Cougars over Butler and Dayton, among others.Ohio Player of the Year Jaaron Simmons Becomes First Men's Hoops Signee https://web.archive.org/web/20130922185231/http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/041813aad.html 2013-09-22 , UHCougars.com, retrieved 2 June 2013. Simmons mentioned that the opportunity to play with standout players Danuel House, Joe Young, and TaShawn Thomas helped in his decision to sign with Houston.Simmons’ goal to ‘Keep Dayton on the rise’, Dayton Daily News, retrieved 2 June 2013. In June, former Baylor guard L. J. Rose announced his transfer to Houston to be closer to his mother who had been diagnosed with lupus. Rose was ranked 63rd in the ESPN100 Class of 2012 and 9th at guard. The Cougars applied for a waiver to the NCAA to allow Rose to play for the team immediately, and the waiver was granted on August 20.Houston's L.J. Rose granted waiver, ESPN.com, retrieved 25 August 2013. The third offseason addition to the Cougars was 6'9" Egyptian-born post player Ahmed Hamdy, who had international experience at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship with the Egyptian national team.Ahmed Hamdy Joins Men's Basketball https://web.archive.org/web/20131127050143/http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/062013aac.html 2013-11-27 , UHCougars.com, retrieved 25 August 2013 Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Joe Young 1 0 G 75 6'3" 185 2 Sophomore Houston, Texas Left program when father Michael was not retained as Director of Basketball Operations;transferred to Oregon J. J. Thompson 1 3 G 72 6'0" 185 2 Sophomore Irving, Texas Granted release to transfer to another school Leon Gibson 1 15 F 81 6'9" 245 4 Senior Los Angeles, California Graduated Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes L. J. Rose 1 G 76 6'4" 190 2 Sophomore Houston, Texas Transferred from Baylor Class of 2013 signees no no 2013 Jaaron Simmons PG Kettering, Ohio Archbishop Alter HS 5 11 175 03/31/2013 3 3 78 Ahmed Hamdy C Alexandria, Egypt Trent Internationale (Sugar Land, Texas) 6 9 255 6/20/2013 NR NR NR 2013 Houston Basketball Commitment List 2013 Houston Basketball Commitment List ESPN houston 215 248 NR NR NR 2 June 2013 yes Roster 2013 Houston Cougars y Danrad Knowles 0 F 6 10 190 SO y Houston, Texas Mikhail McLean 1 F 6 8 205 JR y Houston, Texas Brandon Morris 2 G 6 0 185 SR Alexandria, Louisiana Jaaron Simmons y 3 G 6 1 175 FR Dayton, Ohio LeRon Barnes 4 G 6 6 195 SO y Stonewall, Louisiana L.J. Rose 5 G 6 4 190 SO Houston, Texas Jimmy Jones 12 G 5 10 160 SR y Plano, Texas Tione Womack 14 G 6 1 170 SR Baltimore, Maryland Adam Drexler 20 F 6 5 205 SO Houston, Texas Jherrod Stiggers 21 G 6 5 210 SO y Terrell, Texas Danuel House y 23 G 6 7 195 SO Sugar Land, Texas Lawrence Paye 24 G 6 0 185 SR Houston, Texas Ahmed Hamdy 25 C 6 9 255 FR Alexandria, Egypt TaShawn Thomas y 35 F 6 8 215 JR Killeen, Texas Valentine Izundu 45 C 6 10 215 SO Houston, Texas J.J. Richardson 55 F 6 8 245 SR y Missouri City, Texas James Dickey (Central Arkansas) Alvin Brooks (Lamar) Johnny Estelle (Texas A&M-Kingsville) Ronnie Hamilton (Duke) http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-baskbl/m-baskbl-roster-mtt.html 2013-11-17 Schedule and results On May 21, the Cougars participation as one of the four hosts in the 2013 Legends Classic alongside Pittsburgh, Stanford, and Texas Tech was announced. Houston hosted a pair of regional round games between November 17–21 and then traveled to Brooklyn to participate in the championship round with the other four hosts on November 25–26 at the Barclays Center.Pittsburgh to play in Legends Classic, ESPN.com, retrieved 2 June 2013 The Cougars' 2013–14 schedule was announced on August 21, featuring 17 home games. The schedule's highlights included round-robin play against the other nine American Athletic Conference members, the four previously announced Legends Classic games, a road game against former Southwest Conference rival Texas A&M, and a neutral site matchup against crosstown rival Rice at the Toyota Center. All of Houston's 18 conference games and the two final games of the Legends Classic tournament were televised on the ESPN family of networks or CBS Sports Network.Men's Basketball Announces 2013-14 Schedule https://web.archive.org/web/20130821193931/http://www.uhcougars.com/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/082113aac.html 2013-08-21 , UHCougars.com, retrieved 25 August 2013 yes no |- ! colspan="12" style="background:#c00; color:white;"| Exhibition Nov 5 7:00 pm yes no St. Thomas Hofheinz Pavilion Houston   81–63 2,435 |- ! colspan="12" style="background:#c00; color:white;"| Non-conference regular season Nov 8 8:00 pm yes no Texas State Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN3 76–70 3,123 1–0 Nov 11 7:00 pm yes yes no Texas–Pan American UTPA Fieldhouse Edinburg, Texas   77–65 1,432 2–0 Nov 14 7:00 pm yes no UTSA Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN3 80–62 2,800 3–0 Nov 17 1:00 pm yes no Lehigh Hofheinz Pavilion Houston Legends Classic – Houston Regional Game 1 ESPN3 80–66 2,635 4–0 Nov 21 7:00 pm yes no Howard Hofheinz Pavilion Houston Legends Classic – Houston Regional Game 2 ESPN3 75–62 2,815 5–0 Nov 25 8:30 pm yes yes no Stanford Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Legends Classic – Semifinals ESPN2 76–86 4,142 5–1 Nov 26 6:00 pm yes yes no Texas Tech Barclays Center Brooklyn, New York Legends Classic – Consolation Game ESPN3 64–76 3,514 5–2 Nov 30 7:00 pm yes no Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN3 78–67 3,015 6–2 Dec 4 7:00 pm yes yes no Texas A&M Reed Arena College Station, Texas ESPN3/FSN 57–74 4,850 6–3 Dec 7 5:00 pm yes no San Jose State Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN3 68–72 3,105 6–4 Dec 9 6:30 pm yes no Alcorn State Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN3 89–58 2,833 7–4 Dec 14 7:05 pm yes yes no Louisiana–Lafayette Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana   76–79 OT 3,069 7–5 Dec 21 3:30 pm yes yes no Rice Toyota Center Houston Lone Star Showcase CSS/CSNH 54–52 5,907 8–5 |- ! colspan="12" style="background:#c00; color:white;"| American Athletic Conference regular season Dec 31 8:00 pm no UConn 17 Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPN2 75–71 4,035 9–5 (1–0) Jan 4 3:00 pm yes no South Florida USF Sun Dome Tampa, Florida CBSSN 67–58   3,921 10–5 (2–0) Jan 7 8:00 pm no Cincinnati Hofheinz Pavilion Houston CBSSN 60–61 3,804 10–6 (2–1) Jan 16 6:00 pm yes no Louisville 18 KFC Yum! Center Louisville, Kentucky CBSSN 52–91 21,132 10–7 (2–2) Jan 19 12:00 pm no Rutgers Hofheinz Pavilion Houston CBSSN 77–55 3,115 11–7 (3–2) Jan 23 7:00 pm y no Memphis 23 FedEx Forum Memphis, Tennessee ESPNews 59–82 15,702 11–8 (3–3) Jan 26 2:00 pm no SMU Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPNews 68–75 4,567 11–9 (3–4) Jan 30 8:00 pm yes no Connecticut Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut CBSSN 43–80 9,312 11–10 (3–5) Feb 1 3:30 pm yes no Rutgers The RAC Piscataway, New Jersey ESPNews 70–93 5,616 11–11 (3–6) Feb 5 8:00 pm no Louisville 14 Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPNU 62–77 7,247 11–12 (3–7) Feb 9 1:00 pm no Temple Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPNews 88–74 3,535 12–12 (4–7) Feb 15 2:00 pm yes no Cincinnati 10 Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati ESPNU 62–73 13,176 12–13 (4–8) Feb 19 7:00 pm yes no SMU Moody Coliseum Dallas ESPNews 64–68 6,991 12–14 (4–9) Feb 22 1:00 pm no UCF Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPNews 88–84 7,028 13–14 (5–9) Feb 27 8:00 pm no Memphis 21 Hofheinz Pavilion Houston CBSSN 77–68 3,628 14–14 (6–9) Mar 1 8:00 pm yes no Temple Liacouras Center Philadelphia ESPNU 89–79 3,978 15–14 (7–9) Mar 4 7:30 pm no South Florida Hofheinz Pavilion Houston ESPNews 79–68 3,235 16–14 (8–9) Mar 7 6:00 pm yes no UCF CFE Arena Orlando, Florida CBSSN 83–104 5,471 16–15 (8–10) |- ! colspan="12" style="background:#c00; color:white;"| American Athletic Conference tournament Mar 13 12:00 pm yes no SMU 25 FedEx Forum Memphis, Tennessee Quarterfinals 13,011 ESPNU 68–64 17–15 Mar 14 6:00 pm yes no Louisville 5 FedEx Forum Memphis, Tennessee Semifinals 11,888 ESPN2 65–94 17–16 AP Poll Central Time References Houston Category:Houston Cougars men's basketball seasons Houston Houston