Houston Christian University gets its 2023-24 season underway on Monday night when it takes on Brigham Young University at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The first-ever meeting between the two schools is scheduled for an 8 pm CT tip-off, and is the first of four games for the Huskies this season against teams from the Big 12 Conference.
Ron Cottrell begins his 33rd season on the sidelines for the Huskies as the winningest coach in school history. He has amassed 518 wins in his career, and is now the second-longest tenured head coach in NCAA Division I behind only Greg Kampe of Oakland University.
HCU returns nine players from last year's roster, but just 34% of its scoring and 31% of its rebounding. Highlighting the returnees is 2022-23 Southland All-Defensive selection
Bonke Maring, who ranked second in the conference in both total blocked shots and blocked shots per game.
The 6'10 post, who was named to this season's SLC Preseason First Team, also led the Southland in shooting percentage, hitting at a 58.2% clip on the season. The Cypress, Texas native played in all 32 games last year with 31 starts averaging 13 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. He averaged 12.5 points, six boards, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks in league play.
The Huskies also return guards
Pierce Bazil and
Tristan Moore. Bazil, a shooting guard from Lincoln, Nebraska, made 12 starts in 32 appearances, averaging 8.6 ppg and 1.7 assists per contest. Moore, a 6'7 wing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, gives the Huskies a solid perimeter option, having connected on 35% from the arc through his first two seasons.
Chigozie Achara, a 6'8 forward from Palmdale, California, and
Nate Hudson, a 6'6 forward from Philadelphia, return to bolster the bigs off the bench. Achara was a strong defensive presence in his first year with HCU, averaging 1.7 points and 2.6 rebounds while making four starts in 22 games played. Hudson will be looking to make a bigger impact after playing in just nine games while battling injuries.
Jacob Arnold, a 6'2 sophomore shooting guard from Katy, Texas, returns for his third year in the program, and along with Maring and
Pierce Bazil, has been named a team captain for the upcoming season.
Six newcomers dot the roster, five transfers and one true freshman.
Jay Alvarez is a 6'5 wing from Waynesboro, Pennsylvania who was a NJCAA D2 All-America at SUNY-Sullivan, the same junior college that produced
Darius Lee.
Michael Imariagbe, a 6'7 Houston native, returns home after spending two All-Defensive team years at McMurry.
HCU added a pair of 6'2 combo guards in
Marcus Greene and
Bruce Carpenter. Greene hails from Gilroy, California and began his career at Sacramento State before spending an All-Region year at Panola College, averaging 11 points, three rebounds and two assists. Carpenter comes to the Huskies after being an All-Region selection at North Platte Community College where he averaged 19 points a game. The Atlanta, Georgia native spent his first two seasons at Southeastern CC in Iowa.
Dominic Capriotti and
Porter Bazil round out the newcomers. Capriotti is a 6'3 shooter from Tempe, Arizona who spent a redshirt season at Oakland University. He finished his high school career at PHHoenix Prep, the same program that produced fellow Huskies
Pierce Bazil and
Tristan Moore. 6'7 forward
Porter Bazil is the lone true freshman on the squad. The Lincoln, Nebraska product was named Nebraska Defensive Player of the Year by NxtPro Nebraska and is the younger brother of Pierce, making them the third set of brothers to play under Cottrell.
The Huskies are coming off an emotional 2022-23 campaign that saw them go 10-22 overall after losing their best player and team leader
Darius Lee in a tragic shooting during the summer before the season started. Lee was home visiting family and was hit by a stray bullet on June 20 at a neighborhood barbeque not far from his home in Harlem, New York. The Southland Conference named Lee the 2022-23 Preseason Player of the Year, and he was awarded his Bachelor's degree from HCU in December, as he was just one semester away from graduating at the time of his death.
In March at the Final Four in Houston, Head Coach
Ron Cottrell along with other coaches from around the country got together for the "Play Smart, Save Lives Initiative" to learn about gun safety and proper gun storage. HCU and TCU will highlight the initiative during their game in Fort Worth on November 27. In addition, the NABC is also announcing a partnership with the initiative, and HCU's game against the Horned Frogs will be mentioned as one of the first efforts to bring a focus on gun safety.
BYU comes into the 2023-24 season as one of the newest members of the Big 12 after spending the previous 12 seasons in the West Coast Conference. The Cougars finished 19-15 overall last year and are led by Mark Pope, now in his fifth season.
The Cougars return several key pieces from last year's team, notably Fousseyni Traore. The 6'6 power forward from Mali averaged 12.9 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while starting all 33 contests he played in.
Also returning are 6'5 wing Spencer Johnson, a 46% shooter from beyond the arc who averaged 11 points per, and Jaxson Robinson, a 6'7 forward who started 30 games and averaged 8.5 points, three rebounds and two assists.
The non-conference schedule will see the Huskies play 11 games prior to Christmas, including four in the friendly confines of Sharp, Texas. HCU will play four teams from the Big 12 (BYU, Oklahoma State, TCU and preseason #18 ranked Texas) as well as games at SMU and preseason #15 Texas A&M.
A cross-town trip to rival Rice looms on December 2, with Southland Conference play starting up on January 6 in a home date against Nicholls. All told, the 29-game slate has the Huskies outside the Lone Star State just seven times. HCU's entire schedule this season will be streamed via ESPN+.
After the opening night tussle in Utah, the Huskies will have an eight-day break before hitting the court again. HCU returns to Sharp Gym for two straight games, with the home opener scheduled for November 15 at 7 pm against Florida International. The game will be a rematch of last season's season opener in Miami, which the Panthers won 77-66.
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