HOUSTON, TEXAS – NOVEMBER 09: L.J. Cryer #4 of the Houston Cougars shoots against the Auburn Tigers during the second half of the Mattress Firm Battleground 2k24 at Toyota Center on November 09, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
L.J. Cryer has seen his college basketball career take almost every twist and turn possible.
The former Morton Ranch product and Katy native started out at Baylor where he helped the Bears win a national championship his freshman season and later developed into a reliable player for Scott Drew the next couple of seasons. But last year, he decided to leave Waco and come closer home, opting to bring his talents to the University of Houston Cougars.
As expected, Jamal Shead and Cryer formed one of the most explosive backcourts in the nation. Still, it was also a culture shock to find his place in a new program and get used to playing for Kelvin Sampson and the constant tough love he delivers.
“Now, since I’m used to everything, mistakes are going to happen. I understand that if you are playing hard, he’s not going to be that mad at you. He is going to run you regardless. You can’t ever get out of that so I don’t go into practice not mess up or thinking going into the game, I can’t mess up. Now I feel like I’m free.“
– L.J. Cryer
Fast forward to this season. Cryer, the Cougars’ leading scorer last season, learned to play through the noise while adapting to a new role as a team leader. His job now is to help young players get through what he dealt with last season.
Call it growth.
“I feel like each year in college, I’ve definitely matured,” Cryer said recently to the Defender. “I feel like even from last year, I took a step as far as my maturity level. Handling the coaching so that the younger guys can look at me and see that’s how you are supposed to go about things.”
More comfortable just playing his game, Cryer has evolved and is embracing his role as one of the team’s leaders, along with J’Wan Roberts and Emanuel Sharp. Cryer’s leadership so far has been huge in helping newcomers like point guard Milo Uzan, who transferred from Oklahoma this season.
“I feel like it’s really good for me. I feel like that’s the next step to my game is to take the responsibility of leading the team,” said Cryer, who decided to come back for his senior season instead of pursuing the NBA after last season.. “I was always able to take a seat back to Jamal and other good guards and kind of just do my thing on the side.
“Now I’ve got to have more of a vocal presence and be more in that attack mode from the jump.”
It’s in contrast to a season ago when Cryer was trying to figure it all out while also trying to avoid Sampson’s equal-opportunity wrath. It wasn’t what Cryer was used to, so it took some time to adjust.
“I didn’t have a lot of tough days but I had some tough days for sure,” Cryer said. “You go home and you are like, `dang, what have I gotten myself into?’
“But you have to get through those hard times to get to the other side to see some success. I’m happy I’ve gotten through all of that.”
Early mornings with Lj Cryer this past preseason. Made a plan and stuck to it. College Basketball season is right around the corner. 📈🏀🚀 🐾#FAMhoops pic.twitter.com/pCoGOP20VH
— Lawrence Paye Jr (@LawrencePaye) October 8, 2024
After an impressive first season with the Cougars, who spent much of their first year in the Big 12 as the top team in the nation and made it to the Sweet 16, they are again one of the top teams in the nation (No.7 last week) and could be poised for a sixth-straight Sweet 16 appearance.
The Cougars will need their 6-foot-1 shooting guard to continue to elevate his game and leadership. After three games this season, Cryer and Roberts are tied as UH’s top scorers with each averaging 12.3 points per game.
While Sampson wants Cryer to be more aggressive on the court, he is excited about what he can bring to the program this season. He doesn’t mince words at all. He believes in Cryer.
“LJ does a good job of making the right reads. I call it playing in traffic. If he drives the gap and the help defender comes, he always moves the ball.
“LJ has a quick release, so I told him to really focus on his window. When he has a window to get it off, it’s okay if it’s contested. That’s how much confidence I have in him as a shooter.”
In return, Cryer has a lot of confidence in his team, which returned four starters from last season. He doesn’t see any limits on what the Cougars can accomplish this season.
“I feel like we can accomplish anything that we want to accomplish,” he said. “We’ve got the depth, we’ve got a lot of older guys who have a lot of experience so I feel like the sky is the limit for us.”
