Guard Jamal Shead Taken in NBA Draft on Thursday - University of ...
HOUSTON – University of Houston point guard Jamal Shead became the latest Cougar to join the professional ranks when he was selected by the Toronto Raptors with the No. 45 overall pick in the Second Round of the NBA Draft on Thursday. In 2023-24, Shead led the Cougars to a 32-5 overall record and the school's first Big 12 regular-season championship during Houston's first year in the league. The Cougars also competed as a NCAA Tournament Region No. 1 seed for the second straight season and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive year, the nation's second-longest active streak. For his impressive efforts, Shead was a unanimous Consensus First-Team All-American and named the National Defensive Player of the Year by Naismith Awards, National Association of Basketball Coaches, Field of 68 and Andy Katz . He received the Nolan Richardson Award, presented to the student-athlete who best represents the heart and soul of his team and was a finalist for the Naismith and John R. Wooden Player of the Year awards. On Wednesday, Shead was named the Big 12 Conference Male Athlete of the Year, the first Cougar to receive that honor. Off the court, Shead received his bachelor's degree in health promotions.
ABOUT JAMAL SHEAD Shead was a leader for the Cougars throughout his career and never more so than during the 2023-24 season. He finished his collegiate career with a 120-18 record in four seasons and ranked second in school history with his victory total. The Cougars held 23 opponents to 60 or fewer points while the Manor, Texas, native recorded 22 games with multiple steals with 12 games with 3+ thefts, including a season-high six steals against rv/– Texas in a home win inside Fertitta Center on Feb. 17. In the Houston records book, Shead ranked third in UH history with 226 steals and was sixth in school single-season history with 80 steals. He finished as the only student-athlete in school history to record 100+ wins, 1,300-points, 600+ assists and 200+ steals during his career. He was named the Player of the Year by the league's head coaches and the Associated Press and also was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in conference history to accomplish that feat in the same season. It also was the second straight season in his second different league in which Shead was named Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He joined forward and Houston great Bo Outlaw as the only Cougars to receive that honor multiple times. Shead stood second among the Cougars with 12.9 points per game. Shead also led Houston and ranked among the Big 12 Top-Five leaders in assists per game (6.3, 3rd), steals per game (2.2, 3rd) and assist-turnover ratio (3.11, 2nd) and was the only student-athlete to rank among the nation's Top-26 leaders in all three categories. He was named the Big 12 Player of the Week twice during the regular season and was recognized as the Naismith Trophy Player of the Week for Feb. 26 and the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week for Jan. 23. Shead scored double-digit points in 27 games, including 13 of the last 15 . He also dished out 10+ assists in six games with a career-high 29-point, 10-assist performance at #21/19 BYU on Jan. 23. He was the only Cougar to record points-rebounds AND points-assists double-doubles in 2023-24. COUGARS in the NBA DRAFT With his selection, Shead became the 47th Men's Basketball star and the 48th Cougar to be taken in the NBA Draft. Track and Field legend and Olympic Gold Medalist Carl Lewis was taken in the 10th Round of the 1984 Draft by the Chicago Bulls. This marked the second straight season and the third time in the last four years in which a Cougar was drafted under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson. Forward Jarace Walker (No. 8 overall) was picked by the Indiana Pacers while guard Marcus Sasser (No. 25 overall) was chosen by the Detroit Pistons in the 2024 Draft. Guard Quentin Grimes was selected by the New York Knicks in the 2021 Draft. NBA DRAFT PICKS under HEAD COACH KELVIN SAMPSON Shead became the 16th player and the fourth Cougar under Head Coach Kelvin Sampson to be taken in the NBA Draft Guard Damyean Dotson (Second Round, No. 44) was selected by the New York Knicks in the 2017 Draft as the first Cougar under Sampson. Sampson had three student-athletes from Indiana (Jordan Crawford, 2010; Eric Gordon, 2010 and D.J. White, 2010) taken in the Draft with six players taken during his Oklahoma tenure (Taylor Griffin, 2009; Ryan Humphrey, 2002, Eduardo Najera, 2000; Corey L. Brewer, 1998, Nate Erdmann, 1997 and Ryan Minor, 1996). Brian Quinnett (1989) and Mark Hendrickson (1996) were Sampson's first two NBA Draft picks during his time at Washington State. OTHER NBA DRAFT NOTES Shead became the 11th Cougar to be taken in the Second Round and the first since guard Damyean Dotson with the New York Knicks in 2021. Shead became the first Cougar to be selected with the No. 35 overall pick. Shead became the first Cougar to be selected by the Raptors. SUPPORT YOUR COOGS Fans can make a direct impact on the success of Houston Men's Basketball by supporting Linking Coogs – UH's NIL collective – and by joining the 50-50 Club, which provides financial support directly to Houston Men's Basketball for needs beyond its operating budget. Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered Jordan Brand team apparel, invitations to exclusive events, regular updates about the program and much more. STAY CONNECTED Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on X, formerly known as Twitter, and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team's Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.
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