2010–11 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2010–11 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the college basketball 2010–11 season. It is their 66th year of season play. The head coach for the Cougars was James Dickey, who was serving in his 1st year in that position. The team played its home games at Hofheinz Pavilion on-campus in Houston and are members of Conference USA.

2010–11 Houston Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Conference USA
2010–11 record	12–18 (4–12 C-USA)
Head coach	James Dickey
Assistant coaches	Alvin Brooks Daniyal Robinson Ulric Maligi
Home arena	Hofheinz Pavilion

2010–11 Conference USA men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UAB	12	–	4		.750			22	–	9		.710
Tulsa	11	–	5		.688			19	–	13		.594
UTEP	11	–	5		.688			25	–	10		.714
Memphis †	10	–	6		.625			25	–	10		.714
Southern Miss	9	–	7		.563			22	–	10		.688
Marshall	9	–	7		.563			22	–	12		.647
Southern Methodist	8	–	8		.500			20	–	15		.571
East Carolina	8	–	8		.500			18	–	16		.529
UCF	6	–	10		.375			21	–	12		.636
Rice	5	–	11		.313			14	–	18		.438
Houston	4	–	12		.250			12	–	18		.400
Tulane	3	–	13		.188			13	–	17		.433
† 2011 CUSA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

With a win over #19 UCF during mid-season play, Houston defeated a nationally ranked opponent at home for the first time since the 2005 season.

Roster

Trumaine Johnson played ten games with Houston during the season, but left the team due to "personal reasons" on January 14, 2011.[1]

2010–11 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Joseph Young (I) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Houston, Texas F 1 Mikhail McLean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Houston, Texas G 2 Zamal Nixon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Brooklyn, New York F 3 Maurice McNeil 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr New York, New York G 4 Cory Tellis 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Friendswood, Texas G 5 Nick Haywood 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Monroe, Louisiana G 11 Darian Thibodeaux 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Dallas, Texas F 21 Alandise Harris 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Little Rock, Arkansas G 31 Adam Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr San Antonio, Texas F 32 Kirk Van Slyke 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So The Woodlands, Texas G 33 Trumaine Johnson (S) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Houston, Texas F 40 Kendrick Washington 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Shreveport, Louisiana	Head coach James Dickey (Central Arkansas) Assistant coach(es) Alvin Brooks (Lamar) Daniyal Robinson (Little Rock) Ulric Maligi (Howard) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2010-11-22

Incoming recruits

This season, Houston had five incoming recruits. Freshman Joseph Young, who is the son of Phi Slama Jama-era Houston player and former NBA player Michael Young, had originally committed and signed a National Letter of Intent (NLI) to play at Providence, but chose to play for Houston instead.[2] Although Young requested a release from his NLI, Providence head coach Keno Davis denied it.[3] Young then appealed to the National Letter of Intent advisory committee, but the denial was upheld. Due to the rules of the NCAA, Young is being treated as a transfer student, and is required to sit-out for all games this season. However, he will be eligible to play during the 2011–12 season.

Trumaine Johnson transferred to Houston from San Diego where he played as a guard. Johnson cited racial discrimination against the University of San Diego, and is currently suing the school.[4] Johnson played ten games with Houston until he sustained an ankle injury. Following the injury, he remained with the team for the next four games, but did not play. On January 14, 2011, it was announced that Johnson had left the team for personal reasons.[1]

Houston had several other recruits, but granted releases to them prior to the beginning of the season. Marial Dhal, a 7' 3" center from Uganda, originally committed to Houston on May 1, 2010 and signed an NLI, but was granted a release after head coach Tom Penders stepped down from his position.[5] He then committed, and began play for Canisius. In a similar fashion, Devon Lamb, who had verbally committed to Houston on February 15, 2010, chose to play for Lamar also due to a change of staff.

Fabyon Harris of Chicago originally committed on May 10, 2010, and eventually signed an NLI to Houston, but was granted a release for "personal and family" reasons on August 16, 2010.[6] He then committed to playing for Howard College in the NJCAA, but was dismissed from the team before the season began following an arrest in which Harris had shoplifted a television from a Wal-Mart retail store in Big Spring, Texas with two other teammates.[7]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Alandise Harris SF	Little Rock, Arkansas	Central HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Jun 16, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 89
Darian Thibodeaux SG	Dallas, Texas	Kimball HS / Navarro JC	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	173 lb (78 kg)	May 1, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Joseph Young SG	Houston, Texas	Yates HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 23, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 93
Mikhail McLean PF	Houston, Texas	Second Baptist	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	Apr 28, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 86
Trumaine Johnson SG	Humble, Texas	Kingwood HS / San Diego	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jul 16, 2010
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Unranked   Rivals: Unranked
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Houston 2010 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22. "2010 Houston Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22. "2010 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2010-11-22.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Exhibition
2010/11/06* 4:00PM	Abilene Christian	W 71–68	0–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
Regular season
2010/11/12* 7:00PM	Nicholls State	W 63–62 ^OT	1–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2009/11/14* 2:00PM	Alcorn State	W 88–68	2–0	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/11/17* 7:00PM	at Louisiana Tech	L 54–60	2–1	Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, Louisiana
2010/11/20* 2:00PM	Northwestern Oklahoma State	W 81–58	3–1	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/11/23* 7:00PM	Louisiana-Lafayette	W 78–65	4–1	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/11/27* 3:00PM	at TCU	L 63–79	4–2	Daniel–Meyer Coliseum  Fort Worth, Texas
2010/11/30* 7:00PM	at LSU	L 57–79	4–3	Pete Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
2010/12/04* 2:00PM, SLC TV	at Sam Houston State	W 75–71 ^OT	5–3	Bernard Johnson Coliseum  Huntsville, Texas
2010/12/06* 7:00PM, CSS	Nevada	W 64–61	6–3	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/12/11* 6:00PM, CSS	UTSA	L 63–68	6–4	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/12/18* 7:00PM	at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 78–81 ^OT	6–5	American Bank Center  Corpus Christi, Texas
2010/12/21* 7:00PM	Sam Houston State	W 75–73	7–5	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2010/12/30* 6:00PM	Rogers State	W 85–48	8–5	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/01/05 8:00PM, CSS	at Southern Miss	L 73–85	8–6 (0–1)	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
2011/01/08 4:00PM	#19 UCF	W 76–71	9–6 (1–1)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/01/15 2:00PM	at SMU	W 70–68	10–6 (2–1)	Moody Coliseum  Dallas, Texas
2011/01/19 6:00PM, CBS CS	at Tulsa	W 64–57	11–6 (3–1)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/01/22 7:00PM	UTEP	L 52–57	11–7 (3–2)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/01/26 8:00PM, CSS	at Rice Bayou Cup	L 71–79	11–8 (3–3)	Tudor Fieldhouse  Houston, Texas
2011/01/29 5:00PM, CSS	at East Carolina	L 70–74	11–9 (3–4)	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum  Greenville, North Carolina
2011/02/01 8:00PM, CBS CS	Marshall	L 62–63	11–10 (3–5)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/02/05 7:05PM	at Tulsa	L 71–76 ^OT	11–11 (3–6)	Reynolds Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
2011/02/12 4:00PM	Tulane	W 79-68	12-11 (4-6)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/02/16 7:00PM	SMU	L 51-65	12-12 (4-7)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/02/19 8:05PM, CBS CS	at UTEP	L 64-76	12-13 (4-8)	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, Texas
2011/02/22 8:00PM, CBS CS	at Memphis	L 58-69	12-14 (4-9)	FedExForum  Memphis, Tennessee
2011/02/26 5:00PM, CBS CS	UAB	L 55-68	12-15 (4-10)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
2011/03/02 7:00PM	at Tulane	L 77-80	12-16 (4-11)	Avron B. Fogelman Arena  New Orleans, Louisiana
2011/03/05 5:00PM	Rice Bayou Cup	L 57-72	12-17 (4-12)	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, Texas
C-USA Men's Basketball Tournament
2011/03/09 6:30PM	vs. Marshall First round	L 87-97	12-18	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, Texas
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time.

References

1. Campbell, Steve (2011-01-14). "Johnson leaves Cougars". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
2. Brennan, Eamonn (2010-08-24). "Joseph Young enrolls at Houston after all". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
3. Brennan, Eamonn (2010-08-18). "Providence recruit battle comes to a head". ESPN. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
4. Schrotenboer, Brent (2010-03-10). "Ex-USD athlete sues, claims racial bias". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
5. McKissic, Rodney (2010-06-10). "Canisius lands 7–3 juco transfer". The Buffalo News. Archived from the original on 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
6. Skrbina, Paul (2010-08-16). "Hyde Park grad Fabyon Harris granted release from Houston". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-11-22.
7. Helfgot, Mike (2010-08-25). "Hyde Park grad Fabyon Harris arrested". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2010-11-22.