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Quentin Grimes is the Cougars’ best player, but head coach Kelvin Sampson has called DeJon Jarreau, the redshirt senior point guard, his most important.

Jarreau injured his hip in the opening minutes of Houston’s first-round matchup with Cleveland State, then re-aggravated it while fighting through a screen late against Rutgers on Sunday.

He’s played through the pain, but a limited Jarreau makes No. 2-seeded Houston (26-3, 14-3 American Athletic) less dynamic offensively. Sampson said Wednesday that Jarreau hadn’t practiced in three days, though he’s expected to play and should be about 70 or 75% for Houston’s Sweet 16 tilt with No. 11 Syracuse (18-9, 9-7 Atlantic Coast).

Here are some plays that show how vital Jarreau is to the Cougars’ offense:

 

To start the Rutgers game, Jarreau looked spry. He snagged a chase-down block and repeatedly beat his man off the dribble, like on the above play. He was as explosive off the dribble as ever, with a quick first step and tight handle. Jarreau might be one of the rare guards who’s able to knife through SU’s zone from the top — he’s that quick.

Houston doesn’t run much off-ball action, instead relying on Jarreau and other slashers to get into the paint and play drive-and-kick. When Jarreau’s hip isn’t bothering him, he’s very tough to stay in front of. The mere threat of him driving opens up other offensive options.

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What else you should know before Syracuse takes on Houston:

• Joe Girard’s postseason improvements fly under radar in Syracuse backcourt
  
• The NBA buzz around Buddy Boeheim’s superstar March
  
• No. 11 Syracuse defied odds again. So how far can the Orange go?
  
• Beat writer Q&A: Houston Chronicle’s Joseph Duarte previews SU-Houston
  
• Jesse Edwards still isn’t ready to become SU’s starting center, but he’s almost there
  
• Beat writers disagree about whether SU will beat Houston
  

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Jarreau re-injured his hip with 14:20 left in the Rutgers game. In the three minutes directly after, with Jarreau on the bench, Houston scored one basket.

On the year, Houston assists on 50.9% of its made field goals, an already average rate. That number has dipped in the last two games through Jarreau’s injury. Against Cleveland State and Rutgers, the Cougars have converted 51 field goals, 23 of which have been assisted (45%). The way to beat Houston is to hope they fall into isolation hero ball.

Houston fell behind by nine. It committed three turnovers before bringing Jarreau back. Then, the guard returned and led a comeback, even as he held his hip while running up and down the court. The offense was nonetheless recharged, flowing much more freely in the halfcourt.

And on the break, even the injured Jarreau made a difference.

 

This play, Jarreau runs the floor, fakes a pass to the corner and sinks a 3 in transition. He’s a 35.5% shooter from 3, second behind Grimes among rotation players. The Cougars don’t often run quick offense — their average length of possession is 325th, per KenPom — but Jarreau can engineer fast breaks.

But where Jarreau is most important is his slashing ability. Without him, the Cougars can fall into spells of too many contested jumpers, like they did for stretches against Rutgers.

 

With Rutgers leading by two with under 30 seconds remaining, Jarreau had a mismatch as center Myles Johnson picked him up in a switch. Jarreau’s first step was noticeably slower than it was earlier in the game, whether because of the natural fatigue of the game or his hip. Still, he beats Johnson and gets into the lane for a floater. That shot didn’t fall, but Tramon Mark followed up the miss to tie the game.

Houston is most dangerous with Jarreau slicing through the defense. If he’s not totally healthy Saturday night, it could open the door for an Orange upset.

Published on March 24, 2021 at 2:05 pm

Contact Danny: dremerma@syr.edu | @DannyEmerman