Milos Uzan returned to Oklahoma and took a big step for Houston.
Uzan played two seasons at OU before announcing his transfer to UH in April. He began workouts with the Coogs on June 1, and in those seven months, he’s surrendered to the Sampson Process. He’s worked to retool his mindset as he learns “how we want to win,” as Kelvin Sampson said after the Oklahoma State game.
At times, Uzan has struggled with the demands placed on him. From how Sampson demands his players watch film to running the offense, playing defense, and building trust from his teammates, it hasn’t been a smooth road. Uzan has fouled out of each of Houston’s three losses, and UH has given up late leads in each, facts he’s heard from the coaching staff repeatedly.
“Failure’s never final,” Kelvin said Monday. “It’s part of the process.”
Recently, something has started to click for Uzan. He was 5/10 from the floor in the Big 12 opener on Monday night, with six rebounds and four assists. But more than the numbers, it looked like he’d figured something out. He was more assertive and pushed the offense more. Sampson said that even with LJ Cryer’s 18 points and four steals and J’Wan Roberts’ double-double, he was most proud of Milos.
“Whenever he’s aggressive, whenever he’s decisive, it does wonders for our team,” former UH point guard Galen Robinson said Monday on the Cougar After Thoughts Show (CATS!). “Our guys can see his body language and his mindset, and they’ll feed off of that.”
L.J. Cryer said he’s playing with more confidence.
“He’s getting tougher each and every day,” Cryer said after the game. “Just being tough and playing with confidence. I feel like he’s understanding the system more. He’s not looking over his shoulder whenever he does something wrong. He knows he has complete freedom out there. Just about him going out there and trusting his work.”
On Thursday, Kelvin was even more direct: “Confidence, I think, it’s a wonder drug,” Sampson said.
Kelvin’s maxim is that the head coach, the best player, and the point guard can never have a bad day. Milos had never faced that level of accountability, but in our conversation last week, he told me that was why he came to UH. He struggled with the tough coaching but is now learning to embrace it.
“Coach Samp pushes you to another level,” Uzan told GoCoogs last week. “That’s definitely the toughest part, trying to play to that standard.”
Uzan’s confidence level directly affects this team’s ceiling. Kelvin Sampson was heard on Monday’s game broadcast demanding that Milos shoot it.
“I still think he’s got a lot of room to grow,” Sampson admitted Thursday. “I still think he passes up too many shots early in the clock.”
That said, Sampson believes Uzan is easy to coach, he’s a pleaser, and he wants to do well. “Those guys usually have steady growth, and his play reflects that.”
