No. 3: LJ Cryer – Baylor to Houston
Baylor’s backcourt was crowded last season, but that didn’t stop LJ Cryer from averaging 15.0 points and 2.0 assists per game. He was a huge part of Baylor’s team and in their final game of the season, against Creighton in the Round of 32, Cryer had 30 points on 13-22 shooting, going 4-11 from three.
Houston’s season ended one round later, in the Sweet 16 as Kelvin Sampson’s team earned a No. 1 seed, but was bounced by Miami. One of the biggest reasons that Houston finished the regular season 33-4 was their superstar guard Marcus Sasser.
The Cougars were the best defensive team in the country, but they had to get their scoring from somewhere and most often it came from Sasser. He averaged 16.8 points and their second-leading scorer, Jarace Walker also left for the NBA.
Kelvin Sampson’s team comes into the 2023-24 season at No. 7, but a lot of their hope is tied up in Cryer’s scoring ability alongside Jamal Shead who averaged 10.5 points for Houston last year.
The defense will again be one of the best and Cryer will have a lot of freedom on the offensive end. Now that he’s out from the shadows of Adam Flager, Keyontae George, and even great guards like Jared Butler and Davion Mitchell on Baylor’s 2021 championship team, he’ll really shine.
33-4 is almost certainly out of the question this season with Houston now in the Big 12. The conference will be absolutely loaded, but the Cougars are one of the top contenders to No. 1 overall Kansas.