Houston basketball guard LJ Cryer will withdraw from the NBA Draft process and play the 2023-2024 season with the Kelvin Sampson's Cougars, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium.
The decision from LJ Cryer to return to college and withdraw from the NBA Draft does not come as a huge surprise, considering that he transferred to the Houston basketball program to play for Kelvin Sampson's team this spring. Cryer played three seasons with Baylor basketball, including the 2020-2021 season when the Bears won the national championship.
Cryer averaged 15 points per game and shot 41.5% from three, in the 2022-2023 season with the Baylor basketball program, according to Sports Reference.
As Houston makes the move from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 in the 2023-2024 season, Cryer will undoubtedly be a key player for the program. The conference move will be a big step up in competition for Houston, who was a one seed in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, and lost to Miami in the Sweet 16.
The Big 12 is viewed as the best basketball conference, and Houston along with Cincinnati, UCF and BYU joining only bolsters that claim.
It will be interesting to see Cryer's matchups against his old team, as Houston and Baylor are now members of the same conference.
Cryer saw a steady increase of minutes each year at Baylor. His freshman year, he averaged 10 minutes per game, according to Sports Reference. That was the season Baylor won the National Championship. In his sophomore year, Cryer averaged 25.9 minutes per game. Last season, he averaged 32.3 minutes per game and started all 31 games.
Cryer has two years of eligibility left as he moves to the Houston basketball program.
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