What Does SLAM Magazine Say About Houston Cougars Guard Milos Uzan?
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With Friday's release of SLAMU 020 Magazine featuring the No. 2 Houston Cougars and a mix of veteran and young talents among their starting five, senior guard Milos Uzan's story brings a in one of personal growth story in continuing to excel in the Big 12 conference while also transforming his leadership skills towards a shot at his team's redemption for a national championship.
Often, coach Kelvin Sampson alludes to how, even though Uzan may have appeared lost at times early on in the 2024-25 season, he made moments that counted. Particularly, it proved true with 25 points and four triples against Arizona towards a Big 12 tournament title game on March 15, 2025, and his game-winning inbounds putback off a peel switch against Purdue in the Sweet 16 on March 28.
Now, through 26 games in 2025-26, Uzan's on and off-ball presence, when paired with an implementation of backcourt leadership towards a fellow point guard in freshman Kingston Flemings, has become the focus of his segment of the latest SLAMU issue.
Textbook, proven, and trustworthy. Milos Uzan for SLAMU 020.https://t.co/E3tWXbKSJV pic.twitter.com/4EFD5Ys8nL
— SLAM (@SLAMonline) February 20, 2026
"I think it changes because I'm more in a leadership role for guys like Kingston and, shoot, Chris, Isiah, I gotta lead by example now," Uzan said to SLAM magazine.
Considering Uzan is also part of a potential complete departure of a starting five for Sampson along with redshirt senior guard Emanuel Sharp, it's a similar feeling to which he experienced the departures of L.J. Cryer and J'Wan Roberts following Houston's run to the national championship game in San Antonio.
"I feel like I'm still being as vocal as I was, just probably a little bit more now. And then with L.J. and J'Wan gone, that's some of the scoring gone, so I gotta improve in that way as well," he said.
While he remains self-conscious of his improvement, Uzan has stoutly averaged 11.4 points per game through 13 league games while averaging two triples each time around in that span. Most of it has been bolstered by second-half offensive spurts that have helped create separation late or put games away late.
Quietly, his current 2.89:1 assist-to-turnover ratio through 26 games, a double-digit jump from his Division I 11th-place 2.98:1 ratio last season, is a pleasant surprise considering the youthful cast around him and how naturally, a freshman talent can be prone to making mistakes amidst their physicalities.
If any product has exposed that Uzan hasn't changed his late-season heroic ways while forming himself to pass the baton to the next generation of Sampson's talents, SLAMU's latest issue gave proper highlights ahead of a potential conference title-implicative matchup against Arizona on Feb. 21.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.