1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Guy Lewis. The team played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.

1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball
SWC tournament champions SWC regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Runner-up
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
Record	32–5 (15–1 SWC)
Head coach	Guy Lewis (28th season)
Assistant coaches	Terry Kirkpatrick Don Schverak
Home arena	Hofheinz Pavilion
Seasons ← 1982–83 1984–85 →

1983–84 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Houston †	15	–	1		.938			32	–	5		.865
No. 8 Arkansas	14	–	2		.875			25	–	7		.781
SMU	12	–	4		.750			25	–	8		.758
Texas Tech	10	–	6		.625			17	–	12		.586
Texas A&M	7	–	9		.438			16	–	14		.533
Rice	6	–	10		.375			13	–	17		.433
TCU	4	–	12		.250			11	–	17		.393
Texas	3	–	13		.188			7	–	21		.250
Baylor	1	–	15		.063			5	–	23		.179
† 1984 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The third of Houston's famous Phi Slama Jama teams, this squad was led by Michael Young, Alvin Franklin, and future Hall of Famer Akeem Olajuwon. The Cougars played in the Final Four for the third consecutive season, appeared in their second straight National Championship Game, and completed a three-year run with an overall record of 88-16.

Roster

1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G/F 22 Marvin Alexander 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Worthing Houston, TX G/F 32 Benny Anders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Jr Bernice Bernice, LA F/C 54 Greg Anderson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Worthing Houston, TX F 50 Stacey Belcher 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Yates Houston, TX F 52 Braxton Clark 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Mission De Anza CC San Francisco, CA G 14 Eric Dickens 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Madison Houston, TX G 20 Alvin Franklin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So La Marque La Marque, TX G/F 44 Reid Gettys 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Memorial Houston, TX G 10 Derek Giles 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Bayside Queens, NY C 34 Akeem Olajuwon 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Muslim Teachers College Lagos, Nigeria F 30 Gary Orsak 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Alvin Alvin, Texas G 12 Renaldo Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Roosevelt Gary, IN G 24 James Weaver 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Nederland Nederland, TX F 40 Rickie Winslow 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Yates Houston, TX F 42 Michael Young 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Yates Houston, TX	Head coach Guy Lewis (Houston) Assistant coach(es) Terry Kirkpatrick Don Schverak Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2018-Mar-18

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 19, 1983*	No. 3/4	vs. NC State Hall of Fame Classic	L 64–76^[1]	0–1	20 – Young	–	–	Springfield Civic Center  Springfield, MA
November 26, 1983*	No. 3/4	No. 17/19 Kansas	W 91–76	1–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
November 30, 1983*	No. 8/NR	at Mississippi State	W 68–62	2–1	–	–	–	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, MS
December 3, 1983*	No. 8/NR	Biscayne	W 69–51	3–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
December 6, 1983*	No. 6/6	at No. 9/9 LSU	W 100–91	4–1	–	–	–	LSU Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, LA
December 10, 1983*	No. 6/6	St. Mary's (TX)	W 71–55	5–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
December 16, 1983*	No. 3/3	Stetson Kettle Classic	W 92–71	6–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
December 17, 1983*	No. 3/3	Princeton Kettle Classic	W 65–40	7–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
December 19, 1983*	No. 3/3	Texas Lutheran Kettle Classic	W 129–65	8–1	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
December 21, 1983*	No. 3/3	at UC Santa Barbara	W 89–79	9–1	–	–	–	Santa Barbara, California
December 25, 1983*	No. 3/3	vs. No. 10/8 Louisville Chaminade Classic	W 76–73	10–1	–	–	–	Honolulu, HI
December 26, 1983*	No. 3/3	vs. Fresno State Chaminade Classic	L 61–68	10–2	–	–	–	Honolulu, HI
January 5, 1984	No. 7/5	at SMU	W 60–59	11–2 (1–0)	–	–	–	Moody Coliseum  Dallas, TX
January 7, 1984	No. 7/5	TCU	W 81–67	12–2 (2–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
January 10, 1984	No. 7/5	Texas	W 69–58	13–2 (3–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
January 12, 1984	No. 7/5	at Texas Tech	W 88–66	14–2 (4–0)	–	–	–	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, TX
January 14, 1984	No. 7/5	at Texas A&M	W 70–64	15–2 (5–0)	–	–	–	G. Rollie White Coliseum  College Station, TX
January 20, 1984	No. 4/5	Rice	W 72–42	16–2 (6–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
January 22, 1984*	No. 4/5	at No. 3/3 Kentucky	L 67–74	16–3	–	–	–	Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
January 28, 1984	No. 7/6	at Baylor	W 84–58	17–3 (7–0)	–	–	–	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, TX
February 2, 1984	No. 6/5	Texas A&M	W 87–65	18–3 (8–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
February 4, 1984	No. 6/5	SMU	W 76–57	19–3 (9–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
February 9, 1984	No. 6/5	at TCU	W 76–57	20–3 (10–0)	–	–	–	Daniel-Meyer Coliseum  Fort Worth, TX
February 11, 1984	No. 5/4	at Texas	W 74–63	21–3 (11–0)	–	–	–	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, TX
February 16, 1984	No. 4/4	Texas Tech	W 78–53	22–3 (12–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
February 18, 1984*	No. 4/4	Virginia	W 74–65	23–3	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
February 22, 1984	No. 3/3	at Rice	W 70–54	24–3 (13–0)	–	–	–	Tudor Fieldhouse  Houston, TX
February 26, 1984	No. 3/3	No. 11/11 Arkansas	W 64–61	25–3 (14–0)	19 – Olajuwon	10 – Olajuwon	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
February 29, 1984	No. 2/2	Baylor	W 80–65	26–3 (15–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
March 4, 1984	No. 2/2	at No. 12/12 Arkansas	L 68–73	26–4 (15–1)	22 – Young	6 – Olajuwon	3 – Tied	Barnhill Arena (9,438) Fayetteville, AR
SWC Tournament
March 10, 1984*	No. 5/5	vs. Rice SWC Tournament	W 53–50	27–4	–	–	–	The Summit  Houston, TX
March 11, 1984*	No. 5/5	vs. No. 8/8 Arkansas SWC Tournament	W 57–56	28–4	23 – Young	11 – Olajuwon	12 – Gettys	The Summit (14,930) Houston, TX
NCAA Tournament
March 17, 1984*	(2) No. 5/5	vs. (10) Louisiana Tech NCAA Tournament	W 77–69	29–4	21 – Franklin	12 – Olajuwon	4 – Tied	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, TN
March 23, 1984*	(2 MW) No. 5/5	vs. (6 MW) No. 16/NR Memphis State Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 78–71	30–4	25 – Olajuwon	13 – Olajuwon	9 – Gettys	St. Louis Arena  St. Louis, MO
March 25, 1984*	(2 MW) No. 5/5	vs. (4 MW) No. 19/NR Wake Forest Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 68–63^[2]	31–4	29 – Olajuwon	12 – Olajuwon	10 – Gettys	St. Louis Arena  St. Louis, MO
March 31, 1984*	(2 MW) No. 5/5	(7 E) Virginia National semifinal – Final Four	W 49–47 ^OT[3]	32–4	17 – Young	11 – Olajuwon	7 – Franklin	Kingdome  Seattle, WA
April 2, 1984* 8:12 p.m., CBS	(2 MW) No. 5/5	vs. (1 W) No. 2/2 Georgetown NCAA tournament championship	L 75–84^[4]	32–5	21 – Franklin	9 – Olajuwon	9 – Franklin	Kingdome (38,471) Seattle, WA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll/Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Central Time.

^[5][6]

Rankings

Main article: 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	3	8	6	3	3	3	7	7	4	7	6	5	4	3	2	5	5
Coaches	Not released		6	3	3	3	5	5	5	6	5	4	4	3	2	5	5

^[7]

Awards and honors

• Akeem Olajuwon – Consensus First-team All-American, SWC Player of the Year
• Michael Young – Third-team All-American

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Player	Round	Pick	NBA Club
1984	Akeem Olajuwon	1	1	Houston Rockets
1984	Michael Young	1	24	Boston Celtics
1985	Reid Gettys	5	103	Chicago Bulls
1986	Alvin Franklin	4	80	Sacramento Kings
1987	Greg Anderson	1	23	San Antonio Spurs
1987	Rickie Winslow	2	28	Chicago Bulls

^[8]

References

1. "N.C. State Does It Again, Beating Houston in Tipoff Game, 76-64". The Washington Post. November 20, 1983. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
2. "Olajuwon Concentrates, Wake Forest Dissipates". The Washington Post. March 26, 1984. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
3. "Virginia Eliminated In Overtime, 49-47". The Washington Post. April 1, 1984. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
4. "Georgetown's Pressure Cooks Up a Title". The Washington Post. April 3, 1984. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
5. 2016-17 Houston Men's Basketball Media Almanac 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2016-Dec-18.
6. "HogStats.com :: Box Score :: 1983-84 :: Houston vs. Arkansas in Fayetteville, AR (3/4/1984)". HogStats.com. Retrieved March 14, 2020.
7. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 910–911. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
8. . Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved April 24, 2012.

External links

• Jamfest for the Ages—2007 ESPN.com article commemorating Phi Slama Jama