Kelvin Sampson: Jamal Shead is the ‘Best Point Guard’ in America
The second-ranked Houston Cougars (23-3, 10-3) picked up a massive 73-65 win over No. 6 Iowa State (20-6, 9-4), giving UH sole possession of first place in the Big 12 with five games remaining in the regular season.
The top-six matchup had the feel of a mid-March tilt, and both teams on the court have a very good shot at making deep runs in the tournament when that time arrives.
Houston looks like a team that could go the distance, and after outlasting a red-hot Iowa State squad on Monday night, they’re in a great spot to do so. The Cougars showed their resolve at the moment and kept their perfect 15-0 home record intact, much in part to a monster effort from senior point guard Jamal Shead.
Shead scored a game-high 26 points, going 6-of-10 from the field and 12-of-13 from the stripe while adding six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
After Monday night’s game, ESPN interviewed Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson, who raved about Shead after his second-highest-scoring performance of the season.
“I hear a lot of people talk about who the best point guard is — I never hear them mention Jamal Shead,” Sampson told ESPN. “I would highly encourage you to at least watch him play once so you can get a feel for how good he is. I wouldn’t trade Jamal Shead for any point guard in America. I think we have the best point guard. He’s been in this program for four years and he’s what we stand for. He has a tremendous mother and father. He’s going to graduate in May with a 3.84 GPA.
“He’s one of those kids you just want your kid to grow up and be like. He’s a winner.”
Sampson thinks very highly of Shead, who was the 2022-23 American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and has helped the Cougars to a 116-17 (.872) record since joining the program in 2020-21.
Now, the senior has a chance to make a deep run with the Cougars one more time after making the Final Four (2020-21), Elite Eight (2021-22), and Sweet Sixteen (2022-23) in each of his first three seasons.
Houston will head to Waco to take on the No. 11 Baylor Bears (19-6, 8-4) on Saturday, with tipoff scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on CBS.
