1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball team

1982–83 Houston Cougars men's basketball
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

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.

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

^[1]

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

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

^[15]

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

^[16]

References

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

External links

[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.

[ncaa-nova-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.

[ESPN-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.

[databasebasketball-16] "1983 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com". databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on June 30, 2014. Retrieved April 6, 2014.

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v t e Houston Cougars men's basketball
Venues	Sam Houston Coliseum (select games; 1937–19??) Jeppesen Gymnasium (1946–1966) Delmar Fieldhouse (1966–1969) Fertitta Center (1969–present) Health and Physical Education Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Rice SMU
Culture & lore	Shasta Phi Slama Jama Game of the Century "Cougar Fight Song" Spirit of Houston
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics