Before we get into hoops, I wish everyone a belated Merry Christmas and hope you all have had a great holiday. As our GoCoogs.com community continues to grow, we have so much to be thankful for.
But as the holiday season winds down, that is the sign that conference season is about to kick off for basketball. The Cougars fly to Stillwater on Sunday to open Big 12 play.
It has been a strange season so far, with an abnormal amount of adversity early in the season. The Coogs have lost three games in non-conference play for the first time since 2019 and have had four week-long (or longer) breaks between games.
With a lot of downtime and the early season losses, naturally, fans panic a little. The Veer and CoogFans have been ablaze with people freaking out, but there is no need to worry. The only difference between this year and the previous versions of UH basketball is that the schedule has been tougher: the best team in the country (Auburn), a top-10 team (Alabama), and a quad-one team in San Diego State. All three games came down to a few possessions that determined wins and losses.
Every year, Ryan and I discuss enjoying the journey as we watch a Kelvin Sampson team improve. The team in November looks completely different from what we see in March. Kelvin Sampson’s teams aren’t plug-and-play. You can’t just easily grab a player, throw him into the system, and expect things to run smoothly.
The demands in this program are too high in too many aspects of the game for that to happen. His defense requires five guys playing together as one, and it takes not only the will and the ability to defend like a maniac. Communication and familiarity with those around you take time.
One of the main reasons this happens is that UH replaces core pieces of its roster every year. Last year, UH had to find replacements for Marcus Sasser, Jarace Walker, Tramon Mark, and Reggie Chaney. UH had to replace Kyler Edwards, Fabian White, Josh Carlton, and Taze Moore the year before. In 2022, Sampson had to replace Quentin Grimes and Dejon Jarreau.
This season, UH is only replacing one starter: arguably the greatest point guard to ever play at UH, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, the Big 12 Player of the Year, and, oh yeah, a consensus All-American and one of the best leaders UH has ever had.
Milos Uzan is in his first year as UH’s point guard, meaning he’s the first since Galen Robinson’s freshman year that Kelvin’s PG didn’t have one season as an understudy. Milos is learning as he goes and has integrated better than most fans realize.
In 11 games, Milos averages 8.8 PPG on 43.1% shooting and 39.4% from three-point range. He has a 5.1/1.5 AST/TO ratio and averages 3.1 rebounds per game. In comparison, Jamal averaged 9.8 PPG on 45.7% from the floor and 48.9% from three last year. He had a 5.8/2.1 AST:TO ratio and 3.1 rebounds. It’s pretty close despite UH playing a much better schedule. The biggest statistical difference between the two is when it comes to steals, where Jamal had 2.5 per game compared to 0.9 from Milos.
That is a pretty good start for the new guy stepping into the shadow of the PG on UH’s Mount Rushmore.
Overall, the team is in much better shape than the record suggests. There are a lot of people who think UH has taken a step back. In the end, UH might take a step back: they might not win the Big 12, play for a Big 12 tournament title, or make the second weekend. But to date, the difference between last year and this year is playing KenPom’s number 1, 9, and 36 vs. last year’s Dayton, Texas A&M, and Utah – KenPom’s 32, 35, and 48.
This is a comparison of the two UH teams’ out-of-conference stats (2025 on top):
And UH opponents’ stats (2025 on top):
As you can see, there isn’t much difference. In typical Sampson fashion, last year’s team was different in December than in November. The team in March wasn’t the same team that lost their first two Big 12 road games. These teams constantly evolve. Constantly improve.
With the OOC portion of the schedule behind us, we can sit back and watch this year’s team go to the next level in Big 12 play and attempt to defend that Big 12 title.