Sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas (right), the reigning C-USA player of the week, said freshman center Valentine Izundu (left) is like his little brother on and off the court. | Shaimaa Eissa/The Daily Cougar

Freshman center Valentine Izundu has a habit of making blocks that bring fans to their feet.

In less than eight minutes per game this season for the Cougars, Izundu is averaging more than a block per game, and head coach James Dickey indicated his minutes and opportunities are likely to grow.

Assistant Director of Sports Performance Bryan Lewis pauses to reflect and he seems almost tantalized.

“If he keeps progressing the way that he is, and if we keep challenging him, he’s got some of the most potential on the team,” Lewis said. “When he finally gets comfortable within his own body, it’s going to be unreal.”

Izundu, who recently sparked the Cougar defense against UTEP with three blocks off the bench, is quiet in one-on-one situations, even shy. He is the youngest player on the team, and teammates said his quiet demeanor masks a goofy wit and amiability that has made him a favorite among coaches and players.

“He’s known to be a quiet guy, but he talks more to his teammates than anyone,” said assistant coach Daniyal Robinson. ”He cracks jokes and keeps those guys laughing, in a sneaky, secretive kind of way.”

Sophomore forward TaShawn Thomas, recently named Conference USA’s player of the week, said he knows what being on the receiving end of Izundu’s low-volume barbs is like.

“He’s always trying to block my shot and trying to talk trash in practice,” Thomas said. “He doesn’t say it loud. He just says it where I can hear it, like, ‘Yeah, I got you now.’”

The 6’10” player is the tallest on the roster and brought Cougar fans to their feet with three blocks that helped stem the Miners’ offensive efforts.

“He’s got perfect instincts,” said senior forward Leon Gibson. “For some reason, he can judge the ball better than any person I’ve seen on the block.”

“If you see him in the hole, you need to either put it all the way up or pump fake and get him in the air,” Gibson said. “Because if you go up soft, you’re most likely going to get blocked.”

Izundu’s bread and butter — shot blocking — changes the game, Dickey said.

“He can change a lot of shots, block a lot of shots, and just makes the defense much better,” he said.

Dickey said Izundu is improving game by game because of his eagerness to work and listen to advice.

“I’m not sure that for everyone, having a good work ethic is the most natural thing. He’s starting to understand that,” Dickey said.

Izundu has been spending extra time with Lewis improving his physicality and agility, and the extra hours he has been putting in are starting to show on the court.

“The more time we put in, the more he responds to it,” Lewis said. “He has a lot of natural instinct to him that makes him successful on the court. He has a natural gift of timing, and his athletic ability is going to help him excel no matter what.”

Robinson speaks glowingly of the progress Izundu has already made in his half-season with the Cougars, and projects much more progress in the coming seasons.

“He’s grown a ton since we started practice. He had to get used to the speed of the game, the physicality of it,” Robinson said. ”Now, you see him making those adjustments. We anticipate that he will continue the climb that he’s on.”

The climb that Izundu is on started a scant four years ago, a rarity in today’s age of year-round competitive youth leagues. In very little time, he has already accumulated a stunning collage of above-the-rim highlights on YouTube, both dunking and blocking.

Freshman guard Danuel House said thinks Izundu’s potential has not yet even begun to be fully unlocked.

“He could be a pro,” House said. “You can’t find that many 6’10” guys that’s light on their feet, got good foot work, that can run and jump.”

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The Student Government Association and other UH organizations visited Austin on Wednesday to discuss further research funding at Texas Universities. | Minh Dam/The Daily Cougar

AUSTIN — President and Chancellor Renu Khator created a sea of red in the Texas Capitol with the Board of Regents, UH Alumni Association members, Student Government Association representatives and UH System students Wednesday for Houston Day at the Capitol.

“I’m glad you’re here representing the University of Houston,” Khator said. “This will be a great opportunity for legislators to hear the voice of the students.”

As Cougar Advocates for Texas, the groups met with state representatives, senators and staff members to speak about supporting increased university-research funding.

“Currently our pharmacy program is split between two buildings,” said SGA President Cedric Bandoh. “On our campus, you can literally see the pharmacists walking across campus with their lab materials because the buildings there are just so old, and they don’t have enough space.”

The Board of Regents recently approved the addition of a health science center on campus will expand UH’s medical presence.

“So this building will allow them to come into one location,” Bandoh said. “And the dean of the school is saying that with this new building, we’ll be able to double the enrollment in our pharmacy program.”

Also on the agenda were tuition revenue bonds, conversion of fees to tuition legislation and Tier One research funding.

Khator and the UH System was recognized by Speaker of the House Joe Strauss.

This year’s visit to the Capitol during legislative session almost didn’t happen. After Khator requested an event to be organized, Chairman Nelda Luce Blair rescheduled the Board of Regents meeting to accommodate Houston Day.

“I think everyone, especially President Khator, we’re all committed to our home and our University of Houston,” said Vice President of Alumni Networks Tonja Jones. “Because this is where we work and where we love to come every day and so we feel that it is beneficial to go to Austin and advocate for the issues that matter to our home.”

For many students, this was their first time on the Cougar Advocates for Texas trip sponsored by the Board of Regents, UH Alumni Association, Office of Student Affairs and SGA. The level of interaction with state representatives surprised the newcomers.

“I took some business cards from legislators and their staff members, and I’ll be staying in contact with them,” said Enrique Martinez Jr., who decided during the trip to run for a position on SGA. “But I never really thought I’d be at that level of communication with them or how receptive they’d be to us.”

While boarding the charter buses back to Houston, many students and alumni were optimistic about the success of the day’s efforts.

“It didn’t matter who we spoke to, the actual representative or senator, their chief of staff or an aide,” said political science senior Jeff Syptak. ”The message we went in there with — we sold UH, we sold why we were there, we sold our story and we showed our pride — and that’s what made a difference.”

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For one associate professor in the chemistry department, there is no such thing as too many awards.

The Welch Foundation will honor Olafs Daugulis with the Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the University Hilton.

Senior UH Media Relations Representative Lisa Merkl said Daugulis is the first UH faculty member to receive a Hackerman award, which is a $100,000 grant presented annually to scientists early in their careers.

The Welch Foundation, one of the oldest and largest private funding sources for chemical research, is awarding Daugulis for groundbreaking contributions in transition metal-based catalysis, according to the foundation’s website.

“Daugulis embodies the intent of the Hackerman award — a scientist who at an early stage of his career has already developed an outstanding record of creative and productive work that advances our knowledge of important areas of chemistry,” said Wilhelmina Robertson, chair of the Welch Foundation.

“His research address fundamental questions in synthetic organic methodology that has illuminated key issues and that ultimately may lead to applications that benefit the society.”

Daugulis has published multiple chemistry-based articles and has received several other awards. In 2009, he was honored with the Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award, and in 2007, he won a two-year Sloan Research Fellowship.

Daugulis said fundamental research is intellectually stimulating.

“I love to come to work every day and think about new things,” Daugulis said. “The Welch Foundation has played an important role in letting me freely explore new directions.”

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