Cougars will compete in 2022 Veterans Classic

By Tyler Tyre, Sports Editor
Posted 7/8/22

“This will be a great opportunity to expose our kids to the history of the U.S. Naval Academy that they can only read about,” Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson said. 

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Cougars will compete in 2022 Veterans Classic

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The University of Houston Men’s Basketball program will face Saint Joseph’s at 5 p.m. Nov. 11 in Annapolis, Md., during the ninth annual Veterans Classic, hosted by Navy. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

This will be the first time in school history that the Cougars face Saint Joseph or compete at the Veterans Classic.

“This will be a great opportunity to expose our kids to the history of the U.S. Naval Academy that they can only read about,” Houston Head Coach Kelvin Sampson said.  “For me personally, there has always been an appeal for going to the Academy and being in Annapolis. I have always wanted to take a team to the U.S. Naval Academy. When this opportunity came, we took it.”

Three starters and seven lettermen return from the Cougars’ 2021-22 team, which posted a 32-6 overall record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight, swept the American Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament titles and finished among the nation’s Top 10 for the second straight season.

Under Sampson, the Cougars have posted seven consecutive 20-win seasons, including a pair of 30-win campaigns and competed in each of the last four NCAA Tournaments, tying a school record.

Guard Marcus Sasser returns for his senior season after missing most of the 2021-22 campaign following foot surgery. The Dallas native averaged a team-high 17.7 points per game and was a Preseason All-American Athletic Conference selection before being sidelined.

Like Sasser, junior guard Tramon Mark missed most of the season a year ago following shoulder surgery but is healthy for the 2022-23 campaign. The Dickinson native averaged 10.1 points per game in seven contests before his surgery.

Junior guard Jamal Shead led the Cougars and the American Athletic Conference with 221 assists in 2021-22, the second-highest total in school single-season history. Shead was the only NCAA Division I student-athlete to rank among the nation’s Top-10 leaders in both assists and assist-turnover ratio and was an All-American Athletic Conference honoree.

University of Houston, basketball, NCAA, sports, Veterans Classic