Hakeem Abdul Olajuwon, nicknamed "the Dream", is a Nigerian-American former professional basketball player. From 1984 to 2002, he played center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets, and in his last season, the Toronto Raptors. He led the Rockets to back-to-back NBA championships in 1994 and 1995. Olajuwon was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008 and the FIBA Hall of Fame in 2016. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest centers, as well as one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Phi Slama Jama was a name given to the men's college basketball teams of the Houston Cougars from 1982 to 1984. Coined by former Houston Post sportswriter Thomas Bonk, the nickname was quickly adopted by the players and even appeared on team warmup suits by the middle of the 1982–83 season. The teams were coached by Guy Lewis and featured future Hall of Fame and NBA Top 50 players Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. "Texas' Tallest Fraternity" was especially known for its slam dunking and explosive, fast-breaking style of play. The teams advanced to 3 consecutive NCAA Final Fours, 1982, 1983, and 1984. The 1983 NCAA semi-final of No. 1 Houston vs. No. 2 Louisville, "The Doctors of Dunk", was recognized as one of the 100 greatest basketball moments at the end of the 20th century. The name is trademarked by the University of Houston.
The Houston Cougars are the athletic teams representing the University of Houston. Informally, the Houston Cougars have also been referred to as the Coogs, UH, or simply Houston. Houston's nickname was suggested by early physical education instructor of the university and former head football coach, John R. Bender after one of his former teams, Washington State later adopted the mascot and nickname. The teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and the Football Bowl Subdivision as members of the Big 12 Conference.
Guy Vernon Lewis II was an American basketball player and coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at the University of Houston from 1956 to 1986. Lewis led his Houston Cougars to five appearances in the Final Four of the NCAA tournament, in 1967, 1968, 1982, 1983, and 1984. His 1980s teams, nicknamed Phi Slama Jama for their slam dunks, were runners-up for the national championship in back-to-back seasons in 1983 and 1984. He was inducted into National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
Larry Wayne Micheaux is an American former professional basketball player who played for several teams in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and in Europe.
David Thirdkill is an American retired basketball player. He played in the NBA, and was the 1993 Israeli Basketball Premier League MVP.
Robert Aaron Williams, was an American professional basketball player who was selected by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 1982 NBA draft.
Benny Michael Anders is an American former basketball player. Anders was a forward on the Guy Lewis-coached Houston Cougars teams during the early 1980s. The team featured a set of players called the Phi Slama Jama basketball fraternity that included Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, Michael Young, Alvin Franklin, Reid Gettys, Larry Micheaux and Anders.
Reid Grayson Gettys is an American lawyer and a former college and professional basketball player, best known as a member of the Houston Cougars men's basketball team during the early 1980s.
The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in the NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. They compete as members of the Big 12 Conference. The program has made six appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four, which is the most of any team who has not won a national championship.
The 1981–82 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in NCAA Division I competition in the 1981–82 season. This was the first of Houston's famous Phi Slama Jama teams, led by Rob Williams, Michael Young, Larry Micheaux, and future Hall of Famer Clyde Drexler. Another future Hall of Famer, Akeem Olajuwon, played sparingly off the bench that season.
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.
The 1983–84 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 1983–84 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Guy Lewis. The team played its home games in the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas, and was then a member of the Southwest Conference.
The 2010–11 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston in the college basketball 2010–11 season. It is their 66th year of season play. The head coach for the Cougars was James Dickey, who was serving in his 1st year in that position. The team played its home games at Hofheinz Pavilion on-campus in Houston and are members of Conference USA.
The 1986 Tanduay Rhum Makers season was the 12th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
The 2013–14 Houston Cougars men's basketball team represented the University of Houston during the 2013–14 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the first for the Cougars as members of the American Athletic Conference. The team, coached by James Dickey in his fourth year, played their home games at Hofheinz Pavilion. They finished the season 17–16, 8–10 in conference play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the semifinals of the American Conference tournament where they lost to Louisville.
Joseph Michael Young is an American professional basketball player for the Shahrdari Gorgan of the Basketball Champions League Asia. The son of former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Michael Young, he played college basketball with the Houston Cougars and later the Oregon Ducks. Young earned third-team All-American honors and was named conference player of the year in the Pac-12 as a senior with Oregon in 2015. He was selected by the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft with the 43rd overall pick.
Lynden Bernard Rose Sr. is a Bahamian retired basketball player. He is best known as co-captain of the first of the three Phi Slama Jama teams at the University of Houston.
The Houston–SMU men's basketball rivalry is a college rivalry between the University of Houston Cougars and Southern Methodist University Mustangs. When Houston joined the Southwest Conference in 1972, the two schools were conference mates until the conference dissolved in 1996. After a brief hiatus, SMU would join Conference USA in 2005 and the rivalry would continue when both schools moved to the American Athletic Conference in the midst of 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment. Later, with Houston's move to the Big 12 Conference as a result of 2021–22 NCAA conference realignment, the future of the rivalry was put in doubt.
Jacob Michael Young is an American professional basketball player for the Windy City Bulls of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Oregon Ducks of the Pac-12 Conference. He also played for the Texas Longhorns and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
