As all four of Houston men’s basketball seniors finished delivering their parting messages to the Fertitta Center crowd, they had one final person brought to the floor.
“Where are you at, L.J.?” graduate forward Ramon Walker Jr. said as he called out former teammate, L.J. Cryer, who was on Houston’s final four team.
“Free four (Cryer’s jersey number),” redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp continuously hollered as Cryer reluctantly walked up to center court.
Though Cryer urged the group that the night wasn’t to celebrate him, there was another reason he was lured onto the court.
Coach Kelvin Sampson presented him with his national championship game and Big 12 championship rings, as he became the last of Houston’s four 2025 seniors to receive them.
“We only have one player who didn’t get it,” Sampson said. “I can’t think of a better time to present L.J. with his rings.”
Former Cougars nearly always find their way back home.
Earlier in the night, Houston had to find its own way back, in a 77-64 win over Baylor, where it never led through the first 32 minutes.
The man responsible for giving Houston its first lead of the night with a 3-pointer? The same one who has made more than any other Cougar in the program’s record books.
Sharp nailed a side-step, right-wing 3-pointer, getting two Baylor defenders, and Fertitta Center off its feet.
“As soon as I got it, I knew it was going in,” Sharp said. “Just the way the game went, I couldn’t have had a better senior night. It was just a great game.”
The go-ahead shot would culminate in an eventual 20-3 run and an unrelinquished lead.
In his final home game with Houston, Sharp finished with 19 points on 6-12 shooting, including a game-high five 3-pointers.
Freshman guard Kingston Flemings, who set up the triple with a steal, played part in Houston’s 16 fastbreak points
It followed up what was 17 points on the fastbreak against Colorado on Saturday, after Houston couldn’t muster many during its three-game stretch of consecutive losses to top-10 opponents.
What has also aided Houston offensively is the increase in touches for junior forward JoJo Tugler, who has scored 14 points in back-to-back games.
“Jo is pretty good going either way,” Sampson said. “He’s a good driver going left, and he’s a good driver going right.”
Tugler hasn’t had many consistent opportunities to put on offensive displays, largely due to the three personal fouls he averages per game, and numerous instances of sitting out the majority of first halves due to early foul trouble.
On Wednesday, Tugler recorded just one foul.
And for the first time since Nov. 25 against Tennessee, played 30 minutes.
“30 minutes out of JoJo, that’s perfect,” said Sharp, who knows the best version of Houston is with Tugler on the floor. “I don’t think any team can beat us when JoJo is playing 30 minutes.”
To begin the game, Sampson continued the senior night tradition of starting his seniors, paying homage for their contributions.
Sharp and Walker had played in 68 games together across four seasons.
Wednesday night was the first time they were both starters.
“I’m a Coog for life, I’m always going to be here. I’m always going to show my face,” Walker said to the fans.
Before Sharp could even find the words to say, teammates and fans showered him with “one more year” chants.
Last year, it was the sixth-year program pillar, J’Wan Roberts, who heard those same chants. This year, it was Sharp’s turn.
“Y’all said that to Wan last year. On his 10th year,” Sharp said jokingly.
“I couldn’t, I couldn’t. I wish,” he added.
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