How Milos Uzan’s Confidence At Point Guard Takes Houston Basketball To a New Level

Milos Uzan has thrived down the stretch of the season for the no.2 Houston Cougars. Uzan put up a career best 25 points with no turnovers in the Big 12 tournament championship win over Arizona, showcasing his impact on a national stage.

When former point guard and Houston basketball great Jamal Shead moved on to the NBA, the big question for UH basketball fans was who was going to replace him and become the next point guard. 

However, the main question for Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson was not replacing Shead, but just finding a new point guard. 

Junior Milos Uzan, who ended up transferring from Oklahoma, has wound up being the answer for the Cougars. It was always going to be difficult for Uzan, as he had no one to constantly learn from and be taken aside to understand how the program works. 

“When Milos got here he had no idea what he was getting into,” Sampson said. 

The Cougars have had a long line of point guards such as Dejon Jarreau who was the starting point guard on the 2021 Final Four team before Shead took over from 2022-23. Uzan not being on the team last season did not give him an opportunity to learn from Shead and get a front row seat to how the Cougars point guard position works. 

“That’s one reason why I came here, I knew it would be hard,” Uzan said. 

Instead, it had to be Sampson who had to teach him the ropes and culture of grit and toughness that UH basketball brings to the table. Houston evaluated Uzan extensively before he committed to the Cougars. 

“We thought he could be a really good point guard because he has the one thing you can’t teach, he has a really high basketball IQ and he’s a giver at heart,” Sampson said. 

With four starters back, it’s a big deal to have a passer like him that can easily get his experienced teammates involved.

Uzan has a different skill set and has some strong offensive abilities that has the potential to get Houston over the top. His size defensively, as well as more developed shooting than Shead certainly gives him an advantage, but obviously the leadership and incredible defensive play that Shead brought as a Big 12 player of the year is tough for anyone to match. 

There certainly was a lot of pressure on Uzan being the new facilitator of the offense and taking over Shead’s starting spot in the lineup. It was something even on Uzan’s mind of the expectations that fans had put on him for not “being” Shead. However, once Uzan actually got to Houston, he stopped worrying about it. 

“When I committed and I wasn’t here yet, I was listening to all of it, but once I got here and I saw what type of work I was gonna be putting in every day, I saw how much Samp is going to pour into me,” Uzan said. “I didn’t really focus on that too much.”

The 6’4 point guard explained his motivation to join the program, one of the reasons being player development and the other being a chance to win.

“The first time I talked to Coach Kellen, he was saying how a lot of schools are trying to get into the tournament and what got me was he was saying how we’re trying to win it and that’s what really pulled me in,” Uzan said.

When the Las Vegas native initially joined the program and started developing, it was a rough start, especially in October, where Uzan broke his nose. In the early games, Uzan had to grow while on the job, but over the last few months or so, his growth and play has gone to another level.

“Milos has improved exponentially in just about every area,” Sampson said.

Being aggressive

The coaching staff has put in a lot of work with Uzan and it has been showing. Right when conference play started, Uzan started to get aggressive with his play offensively that brought a new level of scoring to the Cougars. 

Houston was able to add more competitiveness to Uzan, along with making him a player that is nasty and meaner. Arizona and Texas Tech know all about that. 

“The way Coach Sampson coaches is so unique, it’s tough love and then down the line he pours so much confidence in you because you were able to handle that tough criticism,” Uzan said. 

Graduate guard LJ Cryer, being his roommate, also helped him as he understood what Uzan was going through as a new member to the program. 

Cryer mentioned how initially Uzan was trying hard to fit in and taking a back seat. Teammates kept encouraging him to take shots the same way he encourages them.

“We knew we needed him to take another step for us to be a great team. Now he’s standing out,” Cryer said. 

Uzan had to learn to constantly play tough every minute of the game, something he chose to do in coming to the third ward and it has greatly improved his potential to the NBA. 

“J’Wan tells me all the time to go put it on the rim, go be aggressive, go score. Just hearing it from those guys and the coaching staff makes it a lot easier on me,” Uzan said.

The floater

Uzan’s floater has been huge for UH offensively, demonstrated by the team’s two huge road wins at Allen Fieldhouse vs no.11 Kansas and McKale Center vs no. 19 Arizona. 

“It’s not something you start from scratch with. Most of our guys have had an in-between game,” Sampson said. 

Uzan didn’t start growing until high school, so he had to work on his float game and did a lot with associate head coach Quannas White in that area. 

“I’ve always had a pretty good floater growing up, it’s probably my money move,” Uzan said.

With a couple of huge floaters in Lawrence to keep his team in it as well as a big time three pointer, Uzan received Big 12 Player of the Week for his 17 point, nine rebound and nine assist game vs Kansas.

“I think Milos is growing, but give him the credit, he chose to come here. There are games where he will have to impose his will, not everyone can do that,” Sampson said. 

Uzan did that vs the Wildcats in a 19 point performance where Sampson kept telling him that he might need to put up 20. 

“His swagger got better as the game went on,” Sampson said at Arizona. This swagger was also pointed out by the Cougars head coach after his 19 point performance vs no.10 Iowa State. Clearly Uzan is showing that extra edge he has gained not just physically, but mentally. 

“I thought his aggressiveness in the second half is what really keyed our surge,” Sampson said after a win over Baylor at home, where UH basketball was up 20 with three min left in the game. 

On February 24th, Uzan put up a new career high 22 points in Lubbock vs no. 10 Texas Tech. The now aggressive point guard hit a clutch three to put the game away, and has now been taking over when needed. 

“I’m continuing to grow confidence in myself and in my team everyday. You can tell how much Sampson has poured into me along with Coach Q, they have a lot of belief in me, so it definitely brings out the confidence,” Uzan said.

What separates good players from great players is how they play on the road, and Uzan has had multiple big games away from Fertitta Center.

This effort has resulted in Uzan being recognized as a Big 12 second team member. Overall, the 190 pound guard is now averaging 10.9 PPG and 4.4 assists per game, eighth in the Big 12. 

“As his confidence has grown, our team has grown with him,” Sampson said. “He’s a great student and couldn’t be more proud of him.”

His 3.19 assist-turnover ratio is the best in the Big 12 and eighth in the country. Uzan mentions his mindset of taking “singles” instead of the big flashy play, a big reason why his numbers are the way they are. 

“A pass first point guard, he always makes the right play,” graduate forward J’Wan Roberts said. “Having a point guard that we can rely on to do the right thing takes a lot of stress off of our shoulders.”

A winning mentality

Coming from Oklahoma, what stood out to Uzan was the different kind of mentality. “We go into every game expecting to win,” Uzan said. “Everyone is so bought in here, it’s not like that everywhere.” 

Uzan also mentioned how not everyone cares about winning, some only focus on their personal stats, but at Houston it’s only wins and losses. 

“He (Sampson) feels like I’m renting the place right now and needs me to own it. I think it builds up and eventually you’re gonna start to flourish,” Uzan said. 

The Desert Pines high school owns it now. 

It’s a completely different situation one year later for Uzan, a whirlwind of change, but an opportunity to take Houston to greatness. 

“We’re the best team in the 12 trying to win the whole thing so in order to do that, I got to play at a high level,” Uzan said.