Houston’s LJ Cryer, J’Wan Roberts named to college basketball player of the year watch list
The preseason honors continue to pour in for the Houston men’s basketball team.
One week after being named by CBS Sports as two of the “Top 100 and 1” college basketball players in the country, LJ Cryer and J’Wan Roberts were included on arguably the most prestigious list – the Naismith Men’s Basketball Player of the Year watch list.
A fifth-year senior guard for the Cougars, Cryer averaged 15.5 points last season and helped lead Houston to the Big 12 championship and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In Houston’s 79-64 exhibition victory over Texas A&M on Sunday, Cryer had 18 points in 23 minutes.
Roberts, a fifth-year senior forward, averaged 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds last season. He forms one of the best frontcourt tandems in the country alongside sophomore Joseph Tugler. They combined for 13 offensive rebounds in their exhibition win.
Ranked No. 4 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll, the Cougars return four starters, plus Oklahoma transfer Milos Uzan. They also have a healthy Terrance Arceneaux back in the fold.
This is arguably Kelvin Sampson’s most talented and experienced Houston team. The Cougars are one of the national championship betting favorites with 10-1 odds to win the title. The only team with better odds is Duke at 9.5-1.
The Cougars officially tip off their 2024-25 season on Monday, Nov. 4 at home against Jackson State.
More Houston & Big 12 Analysis
Related
Providence Academy girls basketball recruit Maddyn Greenway narrows college list
Maddyn Greenway competes at a high level.Now the Providence Academy junior point guard has several of the nation’s most prestigious women’s collegiate baske
Purdue basketball exhibition vs. Grand Valley State on TV, score…
What Purdue's Matt Painter said about Creighton, lineups, morePurdue coach Matt Painter discussed his progress on finding optimal lineups and making roster deci
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/C5IXQN7BFJANPBVGG2UUXKYYYE.jpg "Penn is undergoing a basketball overhaul. Here’s how the Quakers look on both sides.")
Penn is undergoing a basketball overhaul. Here’s how the Quakers…
For the Penn men’s and women’s basketball programs, this season is all about proving the naysayers wrong.On the men’s side, the Quakers were picked to fin
Standouts from the updated women’s basketball recruiting player rankings
Oct 30, 2024, 03:30 PM ETHigh school basketball is here again -- and with that another update to our 2025 ESPN 100, 2026 ESPN 60 and 2027 ESPN 25 player ranking
