Houston huddles together before the Final Four, Saturday, April 5, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas. | Raphael Fernandez/The Cougar
SAN ANTONIO — Houston men’s basketball has reached the biggest stage in college basketball. One game against Florida stands between the Cougars and the right to call themselves champions for the first time in school history. One game stands between the Cougars and their “one shining moment.”
“You’ve got to go out there and take it from them,” said graduate guard L.J. Cryer, who is looking to become the first player to win a title with two different teams. “At the end of the day, it’s not going to be given … it’s about how bad you want it.”
So, how bad does Houston want it?
The Cougars each want to win it for others.
Graduate forward J’Wan Roberts wants to bring a title home for head coach Kelvin Sampson and tie it with a bow of 800 career wins.
“When [Sampson] loses, you can see it on his face that it crushes him because he doesn’t like to lose, because of all the stuff he puts into it,” Roberts said. “We just lock into a different level, not wanting to lose and wanting to win so bad that we do everything we can.”
The current Cougars carry the weight of the game not only for themselves, but also for those who came before them and fell short of glory.
In 1984, Houston became the first team to lose back-to-back finals after Olajuwon and the Cougars fell to Georgetown and Patrick Ewing 84-75, as early foul trouble plagued both big men.
In 1983, the Phi Slama Jama era was in full swing with Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler leading the way. The moment a North Carolina airball turned into a game-winning 54-52 dunk lives in infamy and still haunts the Cougars.
“I’m sure he poured his heart and soul into this program, just like a lot of guys that came before us,” Cryer said of Olajuwon, who attended Saturday’s game. “We are standing on those guys’ shoulders, everyone who came before us. It would mean a lot to get this done, not only for us but for them.”
The current Cougars are trying to soak it all in before the final chapter closes in their book, too. At Sunday’s press conference, Cryer and Roberts sat side by side, grateful for one more game as Cougars.
“Having an opportunity to wear this jersey one more time, having one more film session, one more team meal, one more bus ride,” Roberts said. “I feel like us getting to the last game, we might as well go out on a good note.”
Those are the guys redshirt sophomore forward Terrance Arceneaux wants to win for.
“For the older guys to get it on their way out, it would be a miracle and a blessing,” Arceneaux said. “We just want to go out there and play our hardest.”
A storybook ending is the goal, but Houston had to fight for another chapter on Saturday, erasing a 14-point deficit with just over eight minutes remaining against Duke.
The preparation time for the title game may be short, but Houston has already shown the belief in each other it takes to finish the job, securing a 70-67 win over the Blue Devils.
Every Cougar contributes. It is never a solo effort.
That is one of the intangibles that makes Houston so difficult to play against, and even harder to put away.
“It just makes it tough for the opposing team when they have to come up with a defensive plan for all of us, not just one of us,” redshirt junior guard Emanuel Sharp said.
So, as the 2024–25 Cougars take the court one final time, they will remember who they want to win for, and hope that each man working for the good of another will send the Gators sliding back under.
sports@thedailycougar.com
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“One final fight together: Houston’s path to glory” was originally posted on The Cougar