This UH team has been outstanding this season. 28-6 overall, 14-4 finishing in second place in the Big 12, and reaching the finals of the Big 12 tournament is a season we should never take for granted. We should always celebrate that.
But, in saying that, this team can be even better. I am not saying it can get better as players improve throughout the tournament. This team can be better based on what these players have done in the past.
The biggest flaw in UH’s résumé has been the performance against the top teams in the Big 12 this season. The Coogs went 3-4 vs the top 5 in the conference. UH split with NCAA NET #19 Texas Tech in the regular season while JT Toppin was healthy; beat #23 BYU in the regular season and in the Big 12 tournament, lost to #6 Iowa State and to #3 Arizona in the regular season.
You don’t expect to win all of those games, but they were all winnable in the second half, except for the game at Kansas. This team has struggled to close out those games, and, surprisingly, the two senior guards, Emanuel Sharp and Milos Uzan, have struggled the most. In the second halves of those 9 games, Emanuel shot 24% from the floor and from 3-point range, and Milos shot 22% and 21%. That has to improve for this team to advance in this tournament.
Moving into a leadership role as a senior is a tough transition, and it always has an adjustment period. It took time for Jamal Shead to make that transition; it took even longer for L.J. Cryer and J’Wan Roberts to do it last year. Milos and Emanuel have had an even more difficult situation, making the transition even more challenging. L.J. and J’Wan had a lot of experience around them with Ja’Vier Francis, Mylik Wilson, and juniors Emanuel and Milos. Jamal had L.J., J’Wan, Ja’Vier, Mylik, and Emanuel.
This season, Emanuel and Milos had one veteran regular, JoJo Tugler, who was coming off surgery. They also had a cast of supremely talented, young, and inexperienced returners like Mercy Miller and Chase McCarty to go along with an elite group of true freshmen, Kingston Flemings, Chris Cenac, and Isiah Harwell. It is no surprise that it has taken a lot longer for things to come together.
Fortunately, if any two players can turn it around in March, it is Milos and Eman. They have been there and done that. Milos was the All-Big 12 tournament team and Midwest All Region last year, and Emanuel was the Big 12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player and the Midwest Region Most Outstanding Player. In the tournament last year, Emanuel shot 43% from the field and 41% from 3, while Milos shot 38% from 3.
Looking ahead, I feel confident in the way Kingston has been playing and in the improvement over the last month from JoJo, Mercy, Chase, and Chris Cenac. As those guys have settled in and have played to their capability, you saw with the performance against Kansas what this team can be. When you throw in Emanuel and Milos getting back to who they are, there is no limit to what this team can achieve.
