He’s Baaaaaack
As I’m writing this, it’s not even 9 a.m., and it’s already been a monumental day for the Houston Cougars Basketball program.
Milos Uzan will return for his senior season as UH’s point guard. Although many in the media speculated that he would stay in the NBA Draft, Uzan chose to return for another year of development. He will use the feedback he received in the NBA draft combine and team workouts.
Milos will look to continue adding elements to his game that will translate to the next level. He already has an outstanding floater in the paint, and his outside shooting improved tremendously since leaving OU. Last season, he was one of the best players in the country in assist/turnover ratio.
He is a phenomenal point guard and will take his game to another level with a second season under Coach Kelvin Sampson. He has opportunities to improve his on-ball defense and to get in the paint more often, helping to open up outside shooting opportunities for the other guards. Getting to the paint will help get to the free-throw line more often. Another year with Alan Bishop in the weight room will also help him. Adding strength will help him compete with those huge NBA guards nightly.
This is a seismic move in the college basketball world: Uzan returns to an already loaded UH roster. This program is coming off back-to-back Big 12 Championships and an NCAA Tournament National runner-up season, and immediately puts them in the national title conversation again. It gives Sampson a veteran floor leader who can help mold the five-star freshman Kingston Flemings.
Uzan’s return allows him the critical second year in the program and a guiding hand for Kingston as he develops, something that he wished Milos had.
Numbers Game
With Milos’ decision, UH allowed Pop Isaacs (who signed in April) to move on to Texas A&M. I thought the two could have played well together, and they knew each other growing up in Las Vegas. But UH does not have enough roster spots – and perhaps shots – so now Pop is going to a rebuilding team that can use him as their starting point guard. He will be an immediate scoring threat for new head coach Bucky McMillan and his Aggies.