Team Red tops Team White 46-41 in Coogs' Red and White Scrimmage

POSTED: August 9, 2019 -- 11:07 a.m. CT

Monday, August 5, the Houston Cougars' Men's Basketball Program held a Red and White Scrimmage. Team Red defeated Team White 46-41 in front of a very good crowd gathered inside Fertitta Center.

Team Red: Cedrick Alley, Jr., Justin Gorham, Brison Gresham, Nate Hinton, Dejon Jarreau, J'Wan Roberts, and Cameron Tyson.

Team White: Caleb Broodo, Quentin Grimes, Chris Harris, Jr., Caleb Mills, Marcus Sasser, and Fabian White, Jr..

The Coogs held the scrimmage as preparation for the overseas trip to Italy (August 7-17). The scrimmage featured 4, six-minute quarters and included modified FIBA rules.

Team White led 24-19 at halftime; however, Team Red outscored Team White 17-5 in the 3rd period.

After the scrimmage, UH Head Coach Kelvin Sampson spoke with the media about the scrimmage; the trip to Italy; and the growth of the UH men's basketball program in five years.

SUPPORT The Houston Roundball Review:

Purchase your Coogs' gear at Fanatics.com via this link;

Get ESPN+ via this link;

Save when you get the Disney bundle (ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu) with this link;

OR, contribute via PayPal or the Cash App.

"But, this was a good idea to do this," Coach Sampson said. "Maybe the best thing for tonight is it introduced the new guys to a lot of our fans. It introduced Caleb Mills, Marcus Sasser, Quentin Grimes, Justin Gorham, J'Wan Roberts, Cam Tyson. I have no idea what kind of team we're going to be because we lost 4 starters. How many teams lose 4 starters and get better? I've never had a team do that. You don't lose 4 starters and think you're going to be better. We're going to be a work in progress. This team's got a long way to go."

Sampson added, "But, this has been 4 years, 5 years in the making. Our crowds. Our second year we beat Cincinnati when they were ranked. We beat SMU. Our second year now. Second year. We beat Cincinnati. We beat SMU. We beat Connecticut. So, the program has been getting better for a long time. Last year, was kind of a culmination. You know when you've only won 33 games one time your in the history of your school, the chances are you're not going to do that again. You're not going to win 30 games and go 16-2 in our conference; and, I'm not even worried about that."

"You know, wherever we go, there's a recognition factor at our program now," Sampson commented. "I'm sure players and coaches; wherever I go, the people recognize you. You don't get ranked in the nation all year long, basically. When you're one of the last 16 teams in America, you get so much media attention focused on you that week. Even the year before. Television is a powerful thing. People recognize you. They see you.

"But, then, when you get on a plane, and fly overseas, we'll see somebody -- Italy is a very popular destination spot for American tourists -- so, there'll be somebody that will, whether they're from the University of Cincinnati or Wichita State or Oregon or Kansas or somebody," Sampson remarked. "Somebody will see us and want to talk Cougar basketball; so, we're kinda getting used to that."

CLICK HERE for news and info about the Coogs' men's basketball team.