Emanuel Sharp Recalls Nerve-Racking Feelings From First NCAA Tournament Game
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The Houston Cougars, as expected for the past couple of seasons, are once again dancing as one of the higher seeds in the NCAA Tournament after the Cougars earned the No. 2 seed in the South Region.
The Cougars will begin the chase, looking for a return to the championship game after finishing last season as the national runners-up with their participation in this year's NCAA Tournament, starting on Friday, taking on the No. 15-seeded Idaho Vandals.
Head coach Kelvin Sampson has done well mixing his veteran talent that returned from last season's squad with an infusion of young talent that came out of the high school ranks, with one of those veteran players recalling his first moments in the madness.
Emanuel Sharp Remembers NCAA Tournament Debut
On Monday, veteran guard Emanuel Sharp spoke with the media and spoke about his first ballgame in the NCAA Tournament and the feelings that came with playing in March, which came as a redshirt freshman back in the 2022-23 season.
"I remember, if you go back and watch the game, my first couple of plays I got my ankles broken," Sharp said. "That just shows you how nervous I was... just a regular crossover had me stumbling, but that was just butterflies."
Sharp's NCAA Tournament debut came as the Cougars took on Northern Kentucky, which the Coogs, as a No. 1 seed, took down No. 16-seeded Northern Kentucky 63-52. In that game, Sharp registered 10 points with two 3-pointers and grabbed a rebound.
At that point, the young guard continued to find ways to contribute throughout the tournament, as he scored seven points and grabbed four rebounds in the Round of 32 win over the Auburn Tigers and in the Sweet Sixteen loss to the Miami Hurricanes, Sharp tallied eight points with a pair of 3-pointers.
Now, as the veteran in his fifth year with the program, Sharp leads the Cougars, no longer a role-player but one of the key pieces to the Coogs squad. Sharp also reflected on that, further talking about his emotions from several years ago, and how those feelings have changed with the experience he has under his belt.
"I was up there up top, it felt like I was the only person on the floor," Sharp said. "But now four years later, I've played in a lot of tournament games, you just got to relax at the end of the day, it's just basketball."
Sharp was one of the top players in the NCAA Tournament a season ago, earning the Midwest Regional's Most Outstanding Player, and now, in his final time in the tournament with the Coogs, he'll be looking to replicate his production, looking for a final shot at a national title.
