1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston. The team was led by head coach Guy Lewis, played their home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.

1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Runner-up SWC tournament champions SWC regular season champions
National Championship Game, L 52–54 vs. NC State
Conference	Southwest Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	31–3 (16–0 SWC)
Head coach	Guy Lewis (27th season)
Assistant coaches	Terry Kirkpatrick Don Schverak
Home arena	Hofheinz Pavilion
Seasons ← 1981–82 1983–84 →

1982–83 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Houston †	16	–	0		1.000			31	–	3		.912
No. 9 Arkansas	14	–	2		.875			26	–	4		.867
Texas A&M	10	–	6		.625			17	–	14		.548
TCU	9	–	7		.563			23	–	11		.676
SMU	9	–	7		.563			19	–	11		.633
Texas Tech	7	–	9		.438			11	–	20		.355
Baylor	4	–	12		.250			12	–	16		.429
Rice	2	–	14		.125			8	–	20		.286
Texas	1	–	15		.063			6	–	22		.214
† 1983 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

This was the second of Houston's famous Phi Slama Jama teams, led by Michael Young, Larry Micheaux, and future Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Akeem Olajuwon. The Cougars swept through the Southwest Conference schedule and were ranked #1 for the final three polls of the 1982–83 season. Riding a 26-game winning streak, they advanced to the 1983 National Championship Game, where they fell 54-52 to Jim Valvano's NC State Wolfpack. Despite the loss, Olajuwon was named Tournament MOP. To date, this remains the last time the MOP was from the losing team.

Roster

1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G/F 32 Benny Anders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 188 lb (85 kg) So Bernice HS Bernice, LA C 50 Dan Bunce 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Conroe HS Conroe, TX C 52 David Bunce 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Conroe HS Conroe, TX G 14 Eric Dickens 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) So Madison HS Houston, TX F 22 Clyde Drexler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Sterling HS Houston, TX G 20 Alvin Franklin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr La Marque HS La Marque, TX G/F 44 Reid Gettys 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Memorial HS Houston, TX G 10 Derek Giles 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Bayside HS Queens, NY F/C 40 Larry Micheaux 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Worthing HS Houston, TX C 34 Akeem Olajuwon 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Muslim Teachers College Lagos, Nigeria F 30 Gary Orsak 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Alvin HS Alvin, Texas G 24 Dave Rose 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Dixie College Houston, TX G 12 Renaldo Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Roosevelt HS Gary, IN F 54 Bryan Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Palisades HS Inglewood, CA F 42 Michael Young 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Yates HS 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

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular Season
Nov 26, 1982*	No. 14	Arizona Kettle Classic	W 104–63[2]	1–0	26 – Micheaux	16 – Micheaux	4 – Drexler	Hofheinz Pavilion (8,000) Houston, TX
Nov 27, 1982*	No. 14	Lamar Kettle Classic	W 106–72	2–0	27 – Drexler	13 – Drexler	5 – Drexler	Hofheinz Pavilion (8,000) Houston, TX
Dec 1, 1982*	No. 11	Mississippi State	W 74–65	3–0	20 – Drexler, Young	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion (6,800) Houston, TX
Dec 5, 1982*	No. 11	Biscayne	W 78–59	4–0	24 – Micheaux	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Dec 8, 1982*	No. 9	Auburn	W 77–65	5–0	22 – Young	12 – Olajuwon	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Dec 11, 1982*	No. 9	at Syracuse	L 87–92[3]	5–1	28 – Drexler	12 – Drexler	5 – Gettys	Carrier Dome (19,430) Syracuse, NY
Dec 16, 1982*	No. 14	vs. No. 1 Virginia Suntory Ball Tournament	L 63–72[4]	5–2	–	–	–	Aoyama Gakuin University Gym (5,000) Tokyo, Japan
Dec 17, 1982*	No. 14	vs. Utah Suntory Ball Tournament	W 82–57[5]	6–2	30 – Olajuwon	18 – Olajuwon	–	Aoyama Gakuin University Gym (5,000) Tokyo, Japan
Dec 27, 1982*	No. 19	at Pepperdine	W 93–92	7–2	–	–	–	Firestone Fieldhouse  Malibu, CA
Jan 2, 1983*	No. 18	Pacific	W 112–58	8–2	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 5, 1983	No. 19	Texas A&M	W 84–61	9–2 (1–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 8, 1983	No. 19	SMU	W 105–71	10–2 (2–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 10, 1983	No. 19	Louisiana-Lafayette	W 79–78	11–2	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 12, 1983	No. 16	at TCU	W 54–51	12–2 (3–0)	–	–	–	Daniel-Meyer Coliseum  Fort Worth, TX
Jan 15, 1983	No. 16	at Texas	W 77–52	13–2 (4–0)	–	–	–	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, TX
Jan 17, 1983	No. 14	Texas Tech	W 98–73	14–2 (5–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 22, 1983	No. 14	No. 4 Arkansas	W 75–60[6]	15–2 (6–0)	26 – Micheaux	10 – Olajuwon	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Jan 26, 1983	No. 9	Rice	W 76–40	16–2 (7–0)	–	–	–	Tudor Fieldhouse  Houston, TX
Feb 2, 1983	No. 8	Baylor	W 86–69	17–2 (8–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Feb 5, 1983	No. 8	at Texas A&M	W 86–66	18–2 (9–0)	–	–	–	G. Rollie White Coliseum  College Station, TX
Feb 9, 1983	No. 6	at SMU	W 85–68	19–2 (10–0)	–	–	–	Moody Coliseum  Dallas, TX
Feb 12, 1983	No. 6	TCU	W 74–63	20–2 (11–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Feb 16, 1983	No. 4	Texas	W 106–63	21–2 (12–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Feb 19, 1983	No. 4	at Texas Tech	W 84–75	22–2 (13–0)	–	–	–	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, TX
Feb 26, 1983	No. 2	Rice	W 86–52	23–2 (14–0)	–	–	–	Hofheinz Pavilion  Houston, TX
Mar 3, 1983	No. 1	at No. 5 Arkansas	W 74–66[7]	24–2 (15–0)	18 – Anders	12 – Micheaux	–	Barnhill Arena  Fayetteville, AR
Mar 5, 1983  NBC	No. 1	at Baylor	W 93–64	25–2 (16–0)	–	–	–	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, TX
SWC Tournament
Mar 12, 1983*	(1) No. 1	(4) SMU Semifinals	W 75–59	26–2	–	–	–	Reunion Arena  Dallas, TX
Mar 13, 1983*	(1) No. 1	(5) TCU Championship	W 62–59[8]	27–2	–	–	–	Reunion Arena (12,857) Dallas, TX
NCAA Tournament
Mar 19, 1983*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 1	(8 MW) Maryland Round of 32	W 60–50[9]	28–2	16 – Young	8 – Drexler	7 – Gettys	The Summit  Houston, TX
Mar 25, 1983*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (4 MW) No. 17 Memphis State Sweet Sixteen	W 70–63[10]	29–2	21 – Olajuwon	7 – Drexler, Micheaux	4 – Drexler, Gettys	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
Mar 27, 1983*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Villanova Elite Eight – Midwest Regional Final	W 89–71[11]	30–2	30 – Micheaux	13 – Olajuwon	3 – 3 tied	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
Apr 2, 1983*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (1 ME) No. 2 Louisville Final Four – National Semifinal	W 94–81[12][13]	31–2	21 – Drexler, Olajuwon	22 – Olajuwon	6 – Drexler	The Pit (17,327) Albuquerque, NM
Apr 4, 1983*  CBS	(1 MW) No. 1	vs. (6 W) No. 16 NC State NCAA Tournament Championship	L 52–54	31–3	20 – Olajuwon	18 – Olajuwon	3 – Franklin	The Pit  Albuquerque, NM
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources^[14]

Rankings

Main article: 1982–83 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	14	11	9	14	19	18	19	16	14	9	8	6	4	2	1	1	1
Coaches	11	—	10	14	17	16	19	13	12	9	8	6	4	2	1	1	1

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Awards and honors

• Clyde Drexler, Consensus Second-Team All-American
• Akeem Olajuwon, NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player, Honorable Mention AP All-American
• Larry Micheaux, Honorable Mention AP All-American
• Michael Young, Honorable Mention AP All-American
• Guy Lewis, AP Coach of the Year

Players drafted into the NBA

Year	Player	Round	Pick	NBA club
1983	Clyde Drexler	1	14	Portland Trail Blazers
1983	Larry Micheaux	2	29	Chicago Bulls
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

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References

1. 1982–83 SWC men's basketball media guide, p. 18
2. "Houston slams UA for Lewis' 500th career win". The Arizona Republic via newspapers.com. November 27, 1982. p. 19. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
3. Crane, Andrew (March 28, 2021). "Crane: Why Houston's Sweet 16 win feels like SU's 1982 Phi Slama Jama victory". The Daily Orange. Syracuse, N.Y. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
4. "Virginia 72, Houston 63". The New York Times. December 17, 1982. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
5. "Houston 82, Utah 57". The New York Times. December 18, 1982. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
6. "Arkansas Is Upset by Houston". The New York Times. January 23, 1983. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
7. "Top-Rated Houston Wins 19th in Row". The New York Times. March 4, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
8. "Houston Beats Texas Christian for S.W.C. Crown". The New York Times. March 13, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
9. "Maryland Winner On Last Shot, 52-51". The New York Times. March 18, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
10. "Houston 70, Memphis State 63". UPI Archives. March 26, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
11. "Olajuwon's the One, And Houston's 1 of 4". The Washington Post. March 28, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
12. "13 Slam Dunks Fall From High Altitude". The New York Times. April 3, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
13. "Final 2: Houston, N.C. State Convincing Winners; Louisville Stricken by 21--1 Streak". The Washington Post. April 3, 1983. Retrieved March 27, 2022.
14. "1982-83 Houston Cougars Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
15. • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 899–900. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
16. "1983 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.

External links

• Jamfest for the Ages—2007 ESPN.com article commemorating Phi Slama Jama
• Phi Slama Jama: The greatest team to never win it all