Houston guard LJ Cryer announces plans to return for 2024-25 season
LJ Cryer came to Houston for his senior season after three years at Baylor. Now, although he could have gone pro, he will officially be back for another run with the Cougars.
Cryer made the announcement across social media earlier on Tuesday. In the posts, he made it known that he’ll be back at Houston next year for his fifth collegiate season and second as a member of the Cougars.
“#ForTheCity,” Cryer wrote on Twitter.
“Let’s do it!” captioned Cryer on the separate post on Instagram.
Cryer started 37 games for Houston this season where they finished 32-5 as a No. 1 seed before falling in the Sweet 16. In those appearances, he averaged a team-high of 15.5 points on 41.1% shooting and 38.8% from three on three triples per game. He also posted 2.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 steals a game. That production earned him a spot on this year’s All-Big 12 Second Team.
This came after Cryer spent three seasons with the Bears. He played in 70 games in Waco, including 31 starts as a junior. Those statistics combined with this year’s at Houston bring him up to career averages of 12.7 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while shooting 43.4% overall and 40.8% from deep on 2.4 threes a game.
In a return to Foster Pavilion in late February, Cryer helped Houston to an 80-76, overtime win against Baylor. He scored 15 points off three threes to go with two rebounds, assists, and steals apiece.
Cryer is an in-state product out of Katy, Texas, which is just over a half hour from the Fertitta Center and was under three hours from his first school in Baylor. He came out of Morton Ranch in high school as a four-star and the No. 90 recruit in 2020. That’s per the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also finished as the No. 20 PG in the class and the No. 5 player from the state.
Cryer left Baylor in the transfer portal last offseason while also declaring for the 2023 NBA Draft. However, he returned to college where he was a hot commodity for programs looking for a quality guard. Of all of them, he then decided to join the Cougars for this year. However, after a quality season, some thought that he would test the waters again, if not just outright go pro.
Instead, he will be back as a leading piece for Houston next season in hopes of another successful year, for himself and the Cougars, over in the Big 12