Ex-Baylor guard Cryer on return home via transfer portal: 'Playing for the University of Houston means so much more to me'

With its über-talented backcourt of Marcus Sasser and Tramon Mark now a memory, the University of Houston (UH) Cougars men’s basketball program landed a notable replacement in the form of L.J. Cryer on Sunday.

The Katy Morton Ranch High School product, who began his collegiate career at Baylor University (BU) in Waco, returned home by way of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer portal.

"Playing for the University of Houston means so much more to me,” Cryer, a guard who stands 6-foot-1, told Houston ABC affiliate KTRK. “I'm going to wear that Houston name with pride. It gives me another thing to play for. It's bigger than me." 

Arguably the greatest player to come out of Morton Ranch, he was a member of a high-scoring Baylor squad that easily dispatched his new team in the Final Four on the way to its first-ever national championship two years ago. 

Cryer racked up more than 15 points in 17 out of the 30 games he started during his third and final season with the Bears, KTRK reported.

Sasser, who was UH’s first All-American player in 40 years since a versatile 6-foot-10 paint wizard named Hakeem Olajuwon, is slated to graduate and will likely hear his name called by National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver in June while Mark, another homegrown talent like Cryer, entered the transfer portal himself with the University of Arkansas as his chosen school. 

According to CBS Sports, the Dickinson-born Mark will fill the void left by Ricky Council, IV, who has decided to test the NBA waters instead of returning to the Razorbacks for his senior year.

Cryer, a member of the All-Big 12 Conference third team for the just-concluded 2022-2023 season, will have reunion matchups with Baylor as UH will commence its membership next year.

"I think I would've still transferred here even if they weren't joining the Big 12," he told KTRK.

The Kelvin Sampson-led Cougars finished their 2022-2023 campaign with a 33-4 overall record, frequently occupying the top spot on the national polls.